Bhubaneswar, April 7: The city's most popular auditorium, Rabindra Mandap, is booked in advance for almost a year from now with only a few days available.
This has left several cultural organisations in search of an alternative. The state government, however, has come to their rescue.
To meet the demand for more auditoriums, a grand cultural centre is coming up on 10acre plot near the Sainik School in the city.
To be built at a cost of Rs 50 crore, the centre would come as a great relief to those who find it difficult to get a date at Rabindra Mandap.
"There are still a few days available. Some event organisers approached us a year in advance and thus the auditorium will stay busy till February 2016," said an official of Rabindra Mandap.
Organisers of theatre festivals or dance and music concerts, who have been holding programmes at this venue for over a decade, know very well how difficult it is to get a suitable date, especially weekends. Hence, since their programme schedules are already fixed, they usually go for advance booking.
"This auditorium is located in a prime area and has the best seating arrangements and stage suitable for theatre. The demand is so high that for our five-day theatre festivals, most groups of our fraternity apply a year ahead of the event. We need a day or two for stage rehearsal. At least dance or music events do not need a couple of days extra for rehearsal and so they can sometimes find a two-day or three-day slot at the last moment," said Abhinna Routray of Uttarpurusha theatre troupe.
Odissi dancer Pallavi said the other options were Jaydev Bhavan or Idcol auditorium but they don't match up to Rabindra Mandap standard.
"The stage at Jaydev Bhavan is not fit for dance and Idcol auditorium has a small stage. Bhanja Kala Mandap is located at Kalpana Square, which is extremely busy and hence not many people prefer this place. Anyway it is under renovation for light and sound," she said.
To cater to the rising demand, the new mega project of the state government will include more than one stage with huge seating arrangement to host more than one event at a time, said culture department director Sushil Das.
One auditorium will accommodate 1,500 people while the other will have a sitting capacity of around 800. Das said there were plans to include a multiplex, a library as well as a museum and even a canteen for the convenience of visitors at the new cultural centre.
The project will be built under Idco's supervision and will come up by 2017, said officials of the culture department.
"The land has been recently identified and work will begin in about six months. The centre is most likely to be named Kala Mandala," said an official of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Performing artistes, event organisers as well as regulars to such events are delighted to hear about the project.
"The site is just around Acharya Vihar, which is neither too far from the city's centre nor too busy. It will be wonderful to have such a culture centre in the city," said Anant Prasad, an art lover.
Show hosts
♦ Rabindra Mandap with 860 seats is Bhubaneswar’s most sought-after auditorium. Its location near PMG Square is an added advantage. For an evening, organiser have to shell out Rs 18000 while the for whole-day book the cost is Rs 22500
♦ Jaydev Bhawan is another major state-run auditorium, but performers complain about stage not right for dancers
♦ Idcol auditorium has a small stage, while Bhanja Kala Mandap is situated on an extremely busy NH-203. Latter’s light and sound arrangements are being revamped
"We host programmes regularly but find it very difficult to get a date at Rabindra Mandap. Hopefully this auditorium gets ready fast so that artistes get more options to choose from"
- Saswat Joshi
dancer
