NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee today said the Sangeet Natak Akademi has provided a safe haven to artists and practitioners and a vibrant intellectual space to thinkers and scholars.

Speaking after inaugurating the “Swami Vivekanand Sabhagar” housed in the Kathak Kendra - one of the constituent units of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), he spoke of how the concept of an auditorium or ‘Preksha Grihas’ was found as early as in the Natyashastra, the Sanskrit text for dance, music and drama.

The President spoke about the extraordinary talent of Swami Vivekanand who was himself an established Pakhawaj player and came from a family of talented musicians. And thus it was only befitting to dedicate this auditorium in the name of Swamiji.

Culture minister Mahesh Sharma spoke about the endeavour of the ministry to always support the specific needs of young artists and students and also about how in India we trace our heritage back thousands of years and how through the ‘Guru Shishya Parampara’ owing to the unique history of India, layers of evolution were added to these art forms through diverse new innovations, influences and ideologies.

The Sabhagar (Auditorium) which has been built keeping the best acoustics and architectural principles in mind will provide the students of Kathak Kendra and the artist community with a world class auditorium, he added.

Ministry secretary N K Sinha, Sangeet Natak Akademi Chairman Shekhar Sen, and Vice-Chairperson Aruna Sairam were present on the occasion.