<p>The official announcement has been made by the cultural department of the Government of India and the theatres in town couldn’t have better news.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The famed National School of Drama (NSD) is headed southwards and is now going to make its debut in the City. While the time that will take for the school to be functional and the syllabus it might entail are still a blur, the news in itself has set theatre enthusiasts dreaming of a better tomorrow. Prior to this, an NSD Resource Centre was set up in the City in 1994 that continues to provide outreach programmes. <br /><br />“It was in 2008 initially that the announcement was made, of a campus to be set up in Bangalore. Karnataka is the state with the highest number of NSD graduates, 54, all of whom have come back to theatre in some way. <br /><br />So it makes sense to set up a campus over here,” says Suresh Anagalli, regional director, NSD Regional Resource Centre. “It was on January 13 this year that we were granted the papers for the three acres of land that have been given for the proposed campus near Kalagram, next to the Department of Kannada Culture,” he adds and further tells Metrolifethat the first steps have been taken and the campus is likely to be built by the end of three years. <br /><br />Theatre personality and founder of Ranga Shankara, Arundhati Nag, is looking at the news rather positively and says, “The more the merrier! India needs more trained and informed theatre professionals. If theatre is to be introduced in schools as a subject, obviously we will need a whole lot of trained trainers.” She also hopes and believes that the campus will bring along a repertory for regular and good performances in town. <br />There is little information on the proposed syllabus and the medium of instruction.<br /><br /> While Suresh believes the medium might be English as the campus targets all the four southern states, those who were a part of a crusade to bring NSD here believe otherwise. <br /><br />“It was nearly a decade back that a need was felt to start schools in different regional language mediums. For instance, one cannot expect people from the background of another language to perform in Hindi in Delhi. There is a need to recognise theatre in every regional language as national theatre. There is a need for a repertoire of Kannada theatre nationally,” says Prasanna, a theatre person who is known to have agitated through a four-and-a-half days long satyagraha to demand an NSD campus in town.<br /><br /> Arundhati agrees, “The need of the hour will be Kannada. Step out of Bangalore and the language of the people is Kannada. If the theatre produced by the NSD here wants to connect with the major nervous system, the pulse of Karnataka, then it can be only through Kannada.”<br /><br />While the initial feeling among many from the theatre community is of delight and hope, the opinion on the language front is divided. Arundhati Raja, artistic director, Jagriti Theatre believes a multilingual platform would be appropriate. “It would be ideal if the medium of instruction in the school is something of a multilingual order. This should not turn out to be just another language controversy,” she says. <br /><br />Division of opinion is hardly enough to curb the excitement that is now inherent in the community over the announcement. There is talk and those among the younger generation of theatre are hopeful to say the least. “Any step taken to promote theatre is good. The art could do with all the help it gets.<br /><br /> NSD being set up in Delhi did change a lot for theatre in the country at large. So I am hoping the same happens in Bangalore,” says Vivek Madan, actor and director. “The language shouldn’t be of much concern. The only thing that must be ensured is that it should be inclusive and not exclusive,” he adds. <br /></p>
<p>The official announcement has been made by the cultural department of the Government of India and the theatres in town couldn’t have better news.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The famed National School of Drama (NSD) is headed southwards and is now going to make its debut in the City. While the time that will take for the school to be functional and the syllabus it might entail are still a blur, the news in itself has set theatre enthusiasts dreaming of a better tomorrow. Prior to this, an NSD Resource Centre was set up in the City in 1994 that continues to provide outreach programmes. <br /><br />“It was in 2008 initially that the announcement was made, of a campus to be set up in Bangalore. Karnataka is the state with the highest number of NSD graduates, 54, all of whom have come back to theatre in some way. <br /><br />So it makes sense to set up a campus over here,” says Suresh Anagalli, regional director, NSD Regional Resource Centre. “It was on January 13 this year that we were granted the papers for the three acres of land that have been given for the proposed campus near Kalagram, next to the Department of Kannada Culture,” he adds and further tells Metrolifethat the first steps have been taken and the campus is likely to be built by the end of three years. <br /><br />Theatre personality and founder of Ranga Shankara, Arundhati Nag, is looking at the news rather positively and says, “The more the merrier! India needs more trained and informed theatre professionals. If theatre is to be introduced in schools as a subject, obviously we will need a whole lot of trained trainers.” She also hopes and believes that the campus will bring along a repertory for regular and good performances in town. <br />There is little information on the proposed syllabus and the medium of instruction.<br /><br /> While Suresh believes the medium might be English as the campus targets all the four southern states, those who were a part of a crusade to bring NSD here believe otherwise. <br /><br />“It was nearly a decade back that a need was felt to start schools in different regional language mediums. For instance, one cannot expect people from the background of another language to perform in Hindi in Delhi. There is a need to recognise theatre in every regional language as national theatre. There is a need for a repertoire of Kannada theatre nationally,” says Prasanna, a theatre person who is known to have agitated through a four-and-a-half days long satyagraha to demand an NSD campus in town.<br /><br /> Arundhati agrees, “The need of the hour will be Kannada. Step out of Bangalore and the language of the people is Kannada. If the theatre produced by the NSD here wants to connect with the major nervous system, the pulse of Karnataka, then it can be only through Kannada.”<br /><br />While the initial feeling among many from the theatre community is of delight and hope, the opinion on the language front is divided. Arundhati Raja, artistic director, Jagriti Theatre believes a multilingual platform would be appropriate. “It would be ideal if the medium of instruction in the school is something of a multilingual order. This should not turn out to be just another language controversy,” she says. <br /><br />Division of opinion is hardly enough to curb the excitement that is now inherent in the community over the announcement. There is talk and those among the younger generation of theatre are hopeful to say the least. “Any step taken to promote theatre is good. The art could do with all the help it gets.<br /><br /> NSD being set up in Delhi did change a lot for theatre in the country at large. So I am hoping the same happens in Bangalore,” says Vivek Madan, actor and director. “The language shouldn’t be of much concern. The only thing that must be ensured is that it should be inclusive and not exclusive,” he adds. <br /></p>
