Theatre activists seek some answers on NSD
By:Sowmya Aji
Theatre activists and litterateurs in Karnataka are asking the first set of questions to newly-appointed Union Human Resources Development minister Smriti Irani : they want to know the future of the prestigious National School of Drama ’s (NSD) Bangalore chapter.
The project, in the pipeline since eight years, has been given three acres of land at Bangalore University and space at theGuru Nanak Bhavan , by the state government. Four short-term residential workshops of three months each and one six-month workshop, besides a round of theatre performances across the state have been conducted by the Bangalore NSD.
With NSD director Waman Kendre arriving in Bangalore on Friday to conduct interviews for the next batch of students for his Centre, theatre activists and litterateurs have drawn up a questionnaire. Theatre and film practitioner B Suresh said: ‘’We don’t want to call it a protest because Kendre has just taken over and the mess is not of his making. The people who can take decisions are the ministry of culture, currently under Union minister Smriti Irani.‘‘
The Bangalore Centre’s director and NSD alumnus Chidambara Rao Jambe, Kendre’s batchmate, says a proposal is pending with the culture ministry seeking to begin a one-year certificate course. ‘‘We have sent a proposal seeking a grant of Rs 30 crore. We have already conducted courses and an infrastructure of sorts is in place for a one-year course. We can do it as soon as the culture ministry gives us a green signal,’’ he said.
The theatre activists are, however, questioning the wisdom of yet another one-year theatre course in Karnataka, which is already home to NINASAM and Rangayana, along with three other such institutes. ‘’Will this course be a duplication of those institutes? Will NSD Bangalore’s one-year course be a competitor to those institutions, which have been doing yeoman service to the cause of theatre in India?’’ the questionnaire asks.
The other issues raised by them include whether local activists will be involved in the drafting of the syllabus and whether there will be a theatre space at the NSD Bangalore campus which could be used by local theatre groups. This questionnaire will be handed over to Kendre in an attempt to nudge the government apparatus into some action.
The project, in the pipeline since eight years, has been given three acres of land at Bangalore University and space at the
But there is no sign of the ‘regional theatre hub’ that the NSD Bangalore was envisaged to be, when theatre activist Prasanna protested and got it to Karnataka, eight years ago. ‘’They should at least begin to hold full-time three-year courses like what is being done in New Delhi. Facilities have been given to them by the state government. But instead of building their Centre and functioning, all they are doing is occupying space at Guru Nanak Bhavan, which has been denied to other regular theatre practitioners,’’ former Karnataka Nataka Academy president Sreenivas G Kappanna told Bangalore Mirror.
With NSD director Waman Kendre arriving in Bangalore on Friday to conduct interviews for the next batch of students for his Centre, theatre activists and litterateurs have drawn up a questionnaire. Theatre and film practitioner B Suresh said: ‘’We don’t want to call it a protest because Kendre has just taken over and the mess is not of his making. The people who can take decisions are the ministry of culture, currently under Union minister Smriti Irani.‘‘
The Bangalore Centre’s director and NSD alumnus Chidambara Rao Jambe, Kendre’s batchmate, says a proposal is pending with the culture ministry seeking to begin a one-year certificate course. ‘‘We have sent a proposal seeking a grant of Rs 30 crore. We have already conducted courses and an infrastructure of sorts is in place for a one-year course. We can do it as soon as the culture ministry gives us a green signal,’’ he said.
The theatre activists are, however, questioning the wisdom of yet another one-year theatre course in Karnataka, which is already home to NINASAM and Rangayana, along with three other such institutes. ‘’Will this course be a duplication of those institutes? Will NSD Bangalore’s one-year course be a competitor to those institutions, which have been doing yeoman service to the cause of theatre in India?’’ the questionnaire asks.
The other issues raised by them include whether local activists will be involved in the drafting of the syllabus and whether there will be a theatre space at the NSD Bangalore campus which could be used by local theatre groups. This questionnaire will be handed over to Kendre in an attempt to nudge the government apparatus into some action.
