Family and friends of the founder of the PSBB group of schools, Mrs. Y.G. Parthasarathy, came together on Sunday to pay tributes to her at the YGP Auditorium, PSBB School, in Chennai.
Sharing memories of their association with her, they hailed her contributions to art, culture and society through her educational institutions.
“Rashmi [Mrs. YGP] gave me the courage to start my school and I will always be thankful to her for the same. When I had initially confided in her whether I should go ahead and start Chettinad Vidyashram, she was the one who gave me the confidence,” recalled Meena Muthiah. She said Mrs. YGP never missed any of the English plays staged at Chettinad Vidyashram and would write to her about them and the characters.
Actor Suhasini Maniratnam said Mrs. YGP had helped several women like her, who were in a transition phase in the 1980s, achieve their goal.
“She had two eyes — education and culture, and she ensured that the things she saw and learnt were passed on to society,” said dancer Padma Subrahmanyam. Mrs. YGP hadn’t just created students, but hundreds of extraordinary teachers. “She instilled in them the importance of being a role model. Even if she was stern at times, she would always be encouraging and gave credit when due,” she said.
Actor-dancer Vyjayanthimala Bali said the educationist was always “young at heart”. “She was extremely kind and generous. Every time I would tell her I was indebted to her, she would brush it aside and just ask me to continue dancing,” she said.
Singer Nithyashree Mahadevan, “Isaikavi” Ramanan and actor A.R. Srinivasan (A.R.S) were among those who participated.