On International Women’s Day, six women at the helm of arts organisations speak about how they explore and interpret the role of women while curating events at their respective organisations. Women in arts administration are not new. Many such as Bangalore Nagarathnamma, who established the Tyagaraja Aradhana at Tiruvaiyyaru and Rukmini Devi Arundale, who established Kalakshetra are superstars in this category. There have been others too who have worked passionately in this sphere. 

Saying it through music and dance - Revathi Subramanian 

Vice- president IFAASD

As Vice President of the Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego (IFAASD), Revathi is deeply committed to working tirelessly for the arts, all while serving as Managing Director and Global Data Science Executive at Accenture, San Diego.

“I admire the resilience, ambition, and level-headedness of women,” she said, emphasising that empathy is a vital trait. According to her, travelling artists require thoughtful consideration, and organisers must balance treating them royally while managing budget constraints.

Among the women she admires are Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo; Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture; and legendary musician M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Revathi first collaborated with musician and art patron C.M. Venkatachalam to organise the Tyagaraja Aradhana at San Diego decades ago. Around 18 years ago, she, along with Shekar Viswanathan—Secretary and President—and several leading minds, envisioned the formation of IFAASD. Since its inception, the organisation has hosted hundreds of concerts, festivals, and talks in San Diego.

The issues grew as they touched about 25 concerts annually: funds and things such as top class audio systems that had to be physically taken to the auditoria each time, and bringing each year’s subscriptions, which women teaching music/dance were able to garner well.

Speaking about the experience, Revathi concluded that it lies in enjoying the wonderful performances, shaping them in some way, and meeting the awe-inspiring Pandit Ravi Shankar at San Diego concerts.  

Music as a Metaphor - Saashwati Prabhu

CEO Krishna Gana Sabha

For Saashwati Prabhu, a woman's flexibility is admirable, allowing her to juggle multiple roles with ease. “As CEO, my role is as multi-faceted as music—spanning administration, curation, and execution. Whatever the job demands, I’m there. No task is too small,” she said with a laugh.

She admires her mother, grandmother, sister-in-law, and friends the most—above all, the Mother of Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry, whose compassion constantly inspires her.

Fun moments are plenty. “We often plan meticulously to welcome someone or organise an event, only for things to get delayed or fall apart. The anticlimax always leaves us laughing heartily.” Issues do surface. Many perceive women as timid or weak. “I have inherited a legacy - the path-breaking work done by my father Y. Prabhu and, more so, my grandfather, Yagnaraman.” She is now being recognised for what she does. 

While she does not label it as gender bias, she has observed that conversations tend to be more open-ended with male organisers, whereas they are more close-ended with female organisers.

As a well-known musician turned arts administrator her challenges are:

financing for the classical arts, building new audiences, and competing expectations of the latest technology (she ensures KGS has the best sound system in place).  While her father is still the General Secretary of KGS, her job among several other duties is to keep up with the times, use the changes happening in the music scene, and keep the sabha growing with audience tastes.

A Musical Bond - Jayalakshm

Naada Inbam at Ragasudha

Jayalakshmi is easily the most well-known, popular organiser and, arguably, the earliest woman to helm a music organisation in recent years in Chennai.  S.V. Krishnan, was the quiet self-effacing founder of Naada Inbam/Ragasudha Hall,Mylapore. His daughter Jayalakshmi has inherited her father's mantle plus his elan and love for music.  Jayalakshmi continues to work with passion following SVK's unique penchant for unearthing and encouraging new, raw talents whenever he chanced upon them. 

A dancer within - Indumati Raman

former organiser Bhagavatha Mela festivals

Indumati Raman’s Kalakshetra background was to the fore as she watched in 1993 a Bhagavata mela natakam from Melattur at NCPA, Mumbai. 

For long years thereafter she forayed into organising Bhagavata  mela festivals in  Mumbai, Chennai and Tiruvaiyyaru. Melattur Bhagavata mela is our country’s only surviving temple dance-theatre which continues to be a male Brahmin tradition.

“As a freelance arts writer for Times of India, Sruti, Nartanam and The Hindu (Chennai) I wrote extensively on the subject. Sruti (April 1994) gave me the cover story which was great for the festival in May. Over 1000 artists, writers and rasikas witnessed the Narasimha Jayanti that year,” said Indumati. 

The challenges were many. Every year, she traveled to Melattur, leaving behind her son and daughter—a heart-wrenching decision, especially since her son is a special needs child. The journey was exhausting, and she had to sacrifice her performing career and discontinue teaching to focus entirely on this work.

In Mumbai, a group of conservative Tanjavurites actively discouraged support for the Bhagavata Mela festival. Despite this, gurus Mahalingam Pillai and Kalasadan Mani defied the opposition and organised a grand reception for the troupe. Indumati’s experiences culminated in her book, Bhagavata Mela: My Tryst with Tradition, and her collaboration on Sakuntala Natak Yakshaganam, which was met with resounding acclaim.

Passion in every note- Varalakshmi Anandkumar and Durgga Venkatesh

Trustees,  Ramapriya Arts Foundation

Varalakshmi is the Head of the Department of French at Queen Mary’s College, while Durgga is a practising cost accountant. When they founded Ramapriya some years ago, they discovered a new passion.

Varalakshmi admires the feminine traits in women that also serve as a source of strength, whereas Durgga is drawn to their strong character and fearlessness. High on their list of inspiring women are their respective mothers, whose resilience and strong values left a lasting impact. (They are not sisters.)

As musicians themselves, Varalakshmi and Durgga saw Ramapriya as a natural extension of their interests—curating exceptional artists, managing funding challenges, and overseeing the logistics of each concert.

“We have organised about 15 concerts annually, featuring top-tier artists as well as emerging talents, alongside talks on art and nama sankeerthanam,” said Varalakshmi. Durgga has also built Ganamritha Hall, equipping it with state-of-the-art audio and other facilities.

They have been fortunate in managing funding challenges. “When we present a concert that brings joy, we feel ecstatic and empowered. We are enablers, which makes us winners. The audience enjoys the programme, so in that sense, they are winners too,” said Varalakshmi.

Strings attached - Meera Sivaramakrishnan

Organiser, Bahudari

Well-known violinist Meera Sivaramakrishnan started Bahudari last year. Along with her stint at All India Radio, this gave her the networking opportunities needed to run a music organisation.

She admires the determination of women, believing it drives them to work hard and achieve their goals. At the top of her list are Indira Gandhi, Jayalalithaa, and musicians Sudha Raghunathan and Aruna Sairam, whom she respects for their resilience, confidence, and ability to overcome challenges.

Through Bahudari, she aims to focus on instrumentalists and artists who are often overlooked by other sabhas. "As an artist, I find organising both engaging and rewarding. I enjoy inviting musicians and being actively involved on the day of the performance," she said.

She has hosted vocal, instrumental, and katha kalakshepam concerts, as well as a whistle concert. “I want to organise vocal concerts while also giving prominence to instrumental performances, as many sabhas tend to neglect them,” Meera said.

Discussing challenges, she noted, “An artist may request specific co-artists, but I prefer to decide the ensemble to avoid repetition within the same year.”

As an organiser, she ensures that performers feel comfortable. “At many sabhas, organisers don’t even welcome the artists,” she observed.

by
Renuka Suryanarayan

 (The author who holds a doctorate in journalism from Ohio University, USA, worked as professor of journalism at California State University in Los Angeles. She is also a Carnatic musician.)