The Samaj was conceived by a few like-minded devotees of Lord Subramania in the mid-forties in the central suburb of Matunga, the then ‘mini-Madras’ of Mumbai. These God-loving migrants from the south cherished their cultural heritage based on the bhakti-cult propounded by our ancient sages and saints. The bhakti-movement of south India culminated in the propitiation of divinity in all its forms and expression, involving the community as a whole. It was articulated in the activities of prayer and worship and exposition of the mythology in temples so that the common man could enrich his daily and spiritual life. It is in these humble circumstances in the mid-forties that the house of the late Shri T.V.Lakshmanan (popularly known as ‘Wimco Lakshman’) in Matunga became the centre of what today exists as the Sri Subramania Samaj, and it continued to function from that address till 1980. Not having their own place was not an impediment as the trustees of Sri Sankara Matham and the South Indian Bhajan Samaj made available their premises and the Municipal Corporation permitted the use of temporary/make-shift pandals on open grounds, so that important festivals like Skanda Shashti, Thaipoosam and Panguni Utthiram and cultural events like Harikatha Kalakshepams and religious discourses could be conducted.
