Social activist Mano Bakthavatsalam passes away at 95

Long-time Chennaiite, Carnatic music connoisseur, and a person who was actively working for social causes, Mano Bakthavatsalam passed away at a city hospital on Friday. She was 95.

Born in 1929, she studied at St. Rafael’s School in Santhome and did her B.A. Honours at Queen Mary’s College in Chennai. Upon the advice of her father, Seshachalam, a prominent citizen of Madras, as it was known then, and a businessman, she took up voluntary work. She is survived by her two sons and their families.

Vijay, her son, said she missed attending concerts as she grew older. She liked sewing and had a machine from the pre-Independence era. She was a committee member of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, was honorary secretary of the Women’s Voluntary Service of Tamil Nadu, and was correspondent and secretary at the NKT National Girls Higher Secondary School, he added. She was also vice-president of the Srinivasa Gandhi Nilayam and the University Women’s Association of Madras.

She was presented The Margarette Golding Award by the International Inner Wheel for highly commendable personal service.

Historian V. Sriram, who knew Ms. Bakthavatsalam for many years, recalled how she used to be involved in several service organisations. “She used to work very enthusiastically but without any fanfare. You could see her driving car even till when she was in her 80s. She served as a committee member at The Music Academy,” he said.