Suguna Vilasa Sabha is a

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

founded by Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar, based in the city of

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The Suguna Vilasa Sabha club is also called as SVS club. The Suguna Vilasa Sabha club was founded by a band of public spirited men headed by Late Sambanda Mudaliar for promotion of histrionic talent in the year 1891.It is one of the oldest and foremost theatre companies in the city.

History

The Suguna Vilasa Sabha was established in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

as a

theatre company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

in the year 1891 in a house in Georgetown. In 1902, the Sabha moved to the Victoria Public Hall from where it functioned from 1902 to 1936, when it moved to

Mount Road Anna Salai (), named for C. N. Annadurai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towa ...

. In 1945, the Sabha built its own theatre, the New Theatre. As stage dramas began to decline after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Sabha transformed into a social club. In the beginning the sabha was housed in Vijayanagaram Maharajas’s High School in George Town, free of rent. In 1896 it rented a premise in Thambu Chetty Street. Chennai Kodaivallal Rajah Sir Savalai Ramasami Mudaliar.,kt.,CIE was the first President of Suguna Vilasa Sabha and he was instrumental in the growth of the Sabha.In 1902 the Sabha moved to Victoria Public Hall. It was there the Sabha expanded its activities and provided additional recreational amenities like

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

Table Tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

and other games besides staging many Dramas. The need for acquiring a Building of its own was felt and the present site was purchased. Under the past president, M. A. M. Ramaswamy, the Sabha has been expanding steadily as one of the oldest and premier clubs in the city.

Artists

The

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

playwright,

Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar (1873–1964), who has been described as "the founding father of modern Tamil theatre", was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipi ...

was associated with the Suguna Vilasa Sabha in the early 1900s. Popular dancer E. Krishna Iyer was also associated with the Sabha.

Facilities

Catering facilities, open air theater, party facility, the i bar, indoor and outdoor games, swimming pool, health club and gym, cards room, library, guest house and billiards.

Infrastructure

* Attractively designed, Air-conditioned and well furnished including 10 deluxe rooms. * A state-of-the-art - Sports Complex, the best Gym-equipped with ultra modern facilities and Health Club. * Air-conditioned Bar, Non-smoking Lounge, Conference Halls, Cards Room and Library. * Vegetarian, Non-Vegetarian, Chinese Tandoori & Continental food. * A well carpeted Air-Conditioned snooker and Billiards room with two tables * Lawn Service.

Location

SVS ClubNo. 57, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002.

Notes

References

* {{cite book , title=Madras Rediscovered, last=Muthiah, first=S., year=2004, authorlink=S. Muthiah, publisher=East West Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd, isbn=81-88661-24-4, page=271 Clubs and societies in India Heritage sites in Chennai