THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
Just imagine a situation when artists perform garba/dandiya as part of a group dance event and it rains outside and there’s sudden water seepage in the auditorium, right on the stage.
For a moment, the artists and the organizers were taken aback by the water seepage, but they took the episode in their stride.
This is what happened at the Pai Tiatrist auditorium of the Margao Ravindra Bhavan on Monday evening when the All Goa Garba/Dandiya group dance event 2019 organised by Kala Akastham, the school of performing arts in association with Ravindra Bhavan and department of Art and Culture was underway.
When the city witnessed a heavy shower on Monday evening accompanied by thunder and lightning, the Ravindra Bhavan’s auditorium witnessed water seepage on the stage, throwing up a host of questions on the upkeep and maintenance of the premiere cultural institution in the commercial capital, more so when the entire complex had undergone renovation at a cost of over Rs 10 crore to play host for the inaugural ceremony of IFFI 2011.
Officials of Ravindra Bhavan, however, said the water seepage on the stage in the main auditorium, is just a tip of the iceberg. In fact, an official pointed out that the main auditorium is leaking at several places, and the authorities have tried to arrest the water seepage inside with the help of plastic sheets and buckets.
When The Goan contacted chairman of Margao Ravindra Bhavan, Prashant Naik to shed light on the upkeep and maintenance of the auditorium, he said his office had written several letters to the department of Art and Culture in the last two years to take up the repair work, but in vain.
Prashant warned that the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao will have to be shut down in June next year if repairs do not commence immediately. “Not just the auditorium, but the entire Ravindra bhavan complex is in urgent need of repairs,” he said.
While saying that the dome needs immediate replacement, Prashant feared that Ravindra Bhavan would meet a similar fate like that of the Kala Academy for want of upkeep and maintenance.
Incidentally, Minister for Art and Culture, Govind Gawde had told the media a couple of months ago that the government would soon take up the repair work on the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao along with other Ravindra Bhavans located at various places in the state, but in vain.
The Minister had made the statement after the media had drawn his attention to the cracks surfacing on the Ravindra Bhavan walls.
