Few Venues in City Leave Artistes in the Lurch

VIJAYAWADA:  Though Vijayawada has earned a reputation of being a cultural capital in undivided Andhra Pradesh since long, with the city being home for many artistes, it is severely lacking in state-of-the-art auditoriums and cultural spaces.

Tummalapalli Kalakshetram is the only popular auditorium in the city to which artists and cultural organisations throng for organising their shows. The other venue which hosts cultural programmes with large gatherings is the Ghantasala Music College. Apart from these two places, Hanumantharaya Grandhalayam is used mainly for rehearsals.

With very few auditoriums available in Vijayawada, cultural organisations and artistes are facing difficulties in organising shows and rehearsals.

“Many a time we have to postpone our shows due to non-availability of auditoriums. The sad part is even the existing ones are not been maintained properly. Not just for shows, artistes are facing severe problems even for rehearsals,” said L Siva Rama Prasad, a stage artiste and president of Sangamitra artists association.

It is not just the lack of facilities that has hit the artistes, but the high rentals are also a thing of worry for them.

“Auditoriums like Tummalapalli Kalakshetram and Ghantasala Kala Kshetram collect `4,500 for half-a-day and `8,000 per day not just for shows but even for rehearsals which is very costly for us. At present, Hanumantharaya Grandhalayam is the only auditorium where we can rehearse at reasonable rate. It costs around `200 for half-a-day, depending on the demand,” Rama Prasad added.

The prime auditorium in the city Tummalapalli Kalakshetram itself is in a very bad condition, thanks to the maintenance of VMC. “Its roof is leaking, air conditions are not working properly causing trouble for the artistes while performing,” explained Sylvester, a popular mimicry artiste.

However, the case of Ghantasala Music College is different as people living in the surrounding areas are complaining about the sounds during the events. While the artistes are lamenting about the lack of proper auditoriums in the city, the VMC officials say that they have already sent proposals for the renovation of Tummalapalli Kalakshetram to the state government. But there is no clarity on when the proposals will be okayed and renovation works will commence.