MARGAO
Issues centered on sound, lights, stage, besides canteen, toilets et al figured prominently at an interactive session newly-appointed Chairman of Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, Rajendra Talak had with Konkani stage artists, including tiatrists, directors and producers in a bid to bring about a turnaround at the cultural institution, dubbed in art and culture circles as the Mecca of Tiatr.
In an apparent bid to leave behind the row over the non-inclusion of tiatrists on the newly-constituted General Council of Ravindra Bhavan, Chairman Talak sought to open a new chapter by inviting members of the tiatr fraternity for a tete-a-tete to understand their grievances and how to go about resolving the issues.
A host of issues plaguing the Ravindra Bhavan auditorium named after Pai Tiatrist Agostinho Fernandes relating to the repair of stage, replacing curtains, lights, green room, sound system, besides amenities such as air conditioning sanitation and canteen came up for discussions during an hour-long meeting on Tuesday morning.
Absence of a representative of the tiatr fraternity also figured during the discussions, with Talak promising to give representation to tiatrists on the panels which will be constituted soon.
Around 18 senior directors /producers/from tiatr fraternity attended the meeting, as they were welcomed by Agnelo Fernandes, Member Secretary, Ravindra Bhavan, Margao and explained the reasons of convening Tuesday’s meeting by the chairman.
Prominent members of the tiatr fraternity who attended the meeting included Roseferns, Prince Jacob, Tiatr Academy of Goa President Menino de Bandar, Francis de Tuem, C D’Silva and others.
Prince Jacob told the media after the meeting that this is the first time that a chairman of Ravindra Bhavan had an interaction with tiatrists to understand the issues facing by the fraternity. “Talak is an artist working in the field of art and culture and we are confident he understands the problems faced by tiatrists. We have conveyed our problems relating to lights, sound, curtains, toilets and canteen. The meeting has been very fruitful and we are happy and we hope for the best,” Jacob said.
Roseferns said Talak has outlined his plans to take Ravindra Bhavan to greater heights by improving the infrastructure. “We have conveyed our problems and we have faith that Talak would take steps to put things in place. For so many months now, RB had no chairman and the institution was looked after and handled by the Member Secretary Agnelo Fernandes,” he said.
Francis de Tuem said the new chairman has promised to bring about a turnaround at the Ravindra Bhavan at the earliest. “Talak hails from the field of art and culture. He has knowledge of art. He has noted our difficulties and we hope for a turnaround in the future,” Francis said.
Expressing his satisfaction over the meeting, the Ravindra Bhavan Chairman said he is happy that the tiatrists had all come up with positive ideas to take the institution forward. “The whole idea was to understand their difficulties and work out solutions. We had a fruitful discussion,” he said, adding that many a problem should be resolved in the next fortnight.
Boost to artists: Plans to open website
MARGAO: Saying the canteen facility at the Ravindra Bhavan should hopefully resume by August 10, Ravindra Bhavan Chairman, Rajendra Talak has unveiled his plans to open a website/ Facebook/Instagram in order to give a big boost to all artists by giving wide publicity on social media.
He also assured all the directors/ producers to give them all co-operation to fulfill their aspirations to run their shows hassle-free without much problem. “You will experience a change in the functioning of RBM in the days to come. The infrastructure inside and outside the auditorium will be artists friendly,” Talak said.
He added: “The RB website will give a platform to the artists to advertise their shows scheduled on a particular day, besides weekly shows. They can even load synopsis on the RB website, which can act as a trailer. This social media facility will be free of cost.”
Talak said Ravindra Bhavan will be thrown up for all artists, promising that a host of programmes will be hosted at the institution, even saying students should come to have their rehearsals.
