NSD dream mired in tragedy of confusions

NSD dream mired in tragedy of confusions


Ashwini M Sripad
First Published : 09 Jan 2009 04:20:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 09 Jan 2009 10:50:07 AM IST

BANGALORE: The long-awaited National School of Drama (NSD) being set up in the state continues to be a dream, with growing confusion on the land allotment.

The struggle for an NSD in Karnataka is 15 years old. During Veerappa Moily’s tenure as chief minister, theatre artistes had sought land to set up the school. The demand was reiterated when M P Prakash, a theatre personality himself, became the deputy chief minister in 2004. Two years ago, Kannada theatre veteran Prasanna even staged a hunger strike that led to an assurance from the then CM H D Kumaraswamy, regarding land allotment for the school.

In the cabinet meeting that followed, it was decided to hand over the main building of Guru Nanak Bhavan, which belongs to the Department of Youth Service and Sports to the NSD. A few theatre personalities felt that the space would be insufficient for setting up the NSD, as the place is suitable for staging dramas and not for a school.

Even a delegation from NSD, New Delhi, met the then Chief Secretary P B Mahishi in September 2007. he assured them that the entire campus would be handed over to NSD. However, no government order has been issued to this effect. Meanwhile, Abhijit Sen Gupta, secretary to the Department of Culture of the Union government, held three meetings with officials of the Bangalore University, Department of Kannada and Culture and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Performing Arts (IGIPA), in this regard.

In the last meeting held in Bangalore before Gupta’s retirement in October 2008, it was decided that both Kannada and Culture Department and IGIPA would provide two acres each to start the NSD. But no order has been issued to this effect.

A 20-acre land belonging to Bangalore University had been given to Department of Kannada and Culture. This department, in turn, allotted 10 acres to IGIPA. Though IGIPA wants to provide two acres out of ten acres, it does not have proper documents. Meanwhile, at a meeting, it was decided that Guru Nanak Bhavan would be leased out to NSD for three years. “The Bhavan authorities did not get the cheque. They have not received any order from the government and they are demanding Rs 10 lakh,” NSD regional director Suresh Anagahalli told to The New Indian express.