JOIN USRanga Samaja's hands-off attitude hurts Rangayana
A meeting was held between artistes, writers and theatre enthusiasts here, including writers Lingadevaru Halemane, G H Nayak, H S Umesh, G P Basavaraju, N S Raghunath, Janni, S R Ramesh, industrialist Murthy, Shivaramu Kadanakuppe, H S Umesh, Rajashekhara Kadamba, Nagachandra and Muddukrishna. However, the meeting between the artistes and ‘think tank’ only resulted in the fixing of the next date for another meeting, before they met Jayashree with their concerns.
Even as issues plaguing Rangayana seem to grow larger, what with even theatre enthusiasts in Mysore expressing concern over the problems, its governing body –– Ranga Samaja, is nowhere to be seen.
The Ranga Samaja members, who are responsible for framing the guidelines and policies pertaining to Rangayana, are the ones who suggest names for the post of the director. Though the government has a final say in the selection, Ranga Samaja does play a crucial role.
Respected members
Ranga Samaja has renowned film director Nagabharana and theatre activists Shreepati Manjanabailu, Na Damodara Shetty, Kariyappa Mastar and Enagi Nataraj as its members. While others are new, Nagabharana has been retained as a member from last time for reasons unknown.
When contacted about the issues concerning Rangayana, one of the members said the Samaja was not responsible for execution of orders, so much as framing them. “It is up to the director. And if there are other people to solve the issues at Rangayana, so be it. We would be glad if they can find a solution,” he said.
As for the artists, they feel it is high time the Samaja members brokered talks between them and the director, since there is no one else who can do this job. “We have been writing to the Kannada and Culture department. Obviously, it is not interested in hearing our woes. Samaja members have remained distant except for the few occasions when Rangayana was headless last year,” said an artist on condition of anonymity.
Artistes are of the opinion that the director tried shirking her responsibility in the Thiruvalluvar statue issue that left a lot of bad blood between both. While, the director maintained that she had not ‘directed’ anyone to install the Thiruvalluvar statue, the artists said that it was done owing to oral instructions issued by her.
When asked why the Samaja was not intervening this time around, a member said: “No one sought our intervention. Neither the artists nor the director have discussed the issue and asked for our help.”