Ranga Shankara
Encyclopedia
Ranga Shankara is one of Bangalore
's best known theatres. It is located in the south Bangalore area of J.P Nagar
and is run by the Sanket Trust
. The auditorium, which opened in 2004, was envisioned by Arundathi Nag
, in remembrance of her late husband, Shankar Nag
, who was a renowned actor in the Kannada film industry.
It aims to promote theatre in all languages and prides itself in lending out the space at an extremely low fare. It follows an at least “a play a day” policy, six days a week (except on Mondays). Its annual theatre festival brings to the city plays from across the country, giving the audience a good spread to choose from. Over 2,700 performances have been staged since inception, most of them in Kannada, though there have been plays in 20 other languages too.
's dream was to create a vibrant, affordable, inclusive space for theatre and theatre lovers in the city of Bangalore. After Shankar’s tragic death in 1990, Sanket Trust
, with the help of friends and lovers of theatre from all over the country, worked towards building Ranga Shankara, a premier theatre in Bangalore In 1994, the Government allotted a plot of land reserved for civic amenities, at JP Nagar, to the trust, on a 30-year lease. However due to lack of funds, construction only started in 2001. The entire cost of the project of around 3 crores. was raised through contributions, ranging from 5 from ordinary theatre lovers to big sums from industrialists. The Ranga shankara complex was designed by architect Sharukh Mistry and it was opened to the public on 28 October 2004.
's Prithvi Theatre
. It aims to
The theatre is rented out only for theatre shows that are open to the public. It does not allow private shows.
The auditorium is air conditioned and seats 320. For the convenience of the disabled audience, Ranga Shankara has special access facilities (an elevator, specially equipped rest room and the capacity to accommodate wheelchairs inside the auditorium).
and bhajjis
to soup du jour with herbal bread rolls. It provides scope for interaction between audience and performers after a show. In addition, it is a venue for theatre festival-related seminars and activities, special talks and lectures.
. This year's panellists include journalist Aakar Patel and academic Chandan Gowda.
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
's best known theatres. It is located in the south Bangalore area of J.P Nagar
J P Nagar
Jaya Prakashnarayan Nagar J P Nagar was created during the period of Ramakrishna Hegde as Chief Minister of Karnataka. In the beginning, this locality was basically a residential area. The area was dotted with bungalows and independent houses...
and is run by the Sanket Trust
Sanket Trust
The Sanket Trust is a non-profit trust established in 1992 in Bangalore having playwright Girish Karnad as its Chairman and actor-theatre practitioner Arundhati Nag, as its Managing Trustee, apart from theatre personalities as well as administrative experts on its Board of Trustees. It formally...
. The auditorium, which opened in 2004, was envisioned by Arundathi Nag
Arundathi Nag
Arundhati Nag is a prominent South Indian polyglot film actress and theatre personality. She has been involved with multilingual Theatre in India, for over 25 years, first in Mumbai where she got involved with Indian People's Theatre Association , and did various productions in Gujarati, Marathi,...
, in remembrance of her late husband, Shankar Nag
Shankar Nag
Shankar Nagarkatte , 9 November 1954 - 30 September 1990) popularly known as Shankar Nag was a popular actor and director of Kannada cinema. He also directed and acted in the teleserial, Malgudi days, based on celebrated novelist R.K.Narayan's short stories. Besides these, he was actively involved...
, who was a renowned actor in the Kannada film industry.
It aims to promote theatre in all languages and prides itself in lending out the space at an extremely low fare. It follows an at least “a play a day” policy, six days a week (except on Mondays). Its annual theatre festival brings to the city plays from across the country, giving the audience a good spread to choose from. Over 2,700 performances have been staged since inception, most of them in Kannada, though there have been plays in 20 other languages too.
History
Shankar NagShankar Nag
Shankar Nagarkatte , 9 November 1954 - 30 September 1990) popularly known as Shankar Nag was a popular actor and director of Kannada cinema. He also directed and acted in the teleserial, Malgudi days, based on celebrated novelist R.K.Narayan's short stories. Besides these, he was actively involved...
's dream was to create a vibrant, affordable, inclusive space for theatre and theatre lovers in the city of Bangalore. After Shankar’s tragic death in 1990, Sanket Trust
Sanket Trust
The Sanket Trust is a non-profit trust established in 1992 in Bangalore having playwright Girish Karnad as its Chairman and actor-theatre practitioner Arundhati Nag, as its Managing Trustee, apart from theatre personalities as well as administrative experts on its Board of Trustees. It formally...
, with the help of friends and lovers of theatre from all over the country, worked towards building Ranga Shankara, a premier theatre in Bangalore In 1994, the Government allotted a plot of land reserved for civic amenities, at JP Nagar, to the trust, on a 30-year lease. However due to lack of funds, construction only started in 2001. The entire cost of the project of around 3 crores. was raised through contributions, ranging from 5 from ordinary theatre lovers to big sums from industrialists. The Ranga shankara complex was designed by architect Sharukh Mistry and it was opened to the public on 28 October 2004.
Objectives
Ranga Shankara is a space dedicated to theatre and resembles MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
's Prithvi Theatre
Prithvi Theatre
Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai's best known theatres. It belongs to the Kapoor family, one of the most influential actor/director families in Bollywood. The theatre is named after Prithviraj Kapoor who first founded 'Prithvi Theatres', a travelling theatre company in 1944. The company ran for...
. It aims to
- showcase theatrical performances from India and abroad
- produce and commission new and innovative theatre forms and productions
- facilitate outreach programmes to build audiences for theatre and to impart theatre skills.
The theatre is rented out only for theatre shows that are open to the public. It does not allow private shows.
Performing space
The auditorium has a thrust stage with a floor area of 1750 sq ft, with four green rooms and state-of-the-art sound, lighting, and technical facilities. The stage and the auditorium arrange the acoustics such that artificial amplification is not required.The auditorium is air conditioned and seats 320. For the convenience of the disabled audience, Ranga Shankara has special access facilities (an elevator, specially equipped rest room and the capacity to accommodate wheelchairs inside the auditorium).
Book Shop
Ranga Shankara has a bookshop at the front corner of its lobby. It is operated by Sankars. The collection includes many theatre and performance-related books. It also hosts special events like book launches and reading sessions.Café
The café is open from 11am to 9pm and serves food that ranges from akki rotiAkki rotti
Akki Rotti is a rice-based breakfast item unique to the state of Karnataka, India. Akki-Rotti means rice-pancake in the native language, Kannada. It is made of rice flour which is mixed with salt and water and kneaded well to make a soft dough. Sliced onions and carrots, chopped coriander and...
and bhajjis
Bhajji
For the Indian cricketer, see Harbhajan SinghFor the food item, see Bhajji Bhajji was a princely state in India. Until 1947, it was not part of British India but was subject to the suzerainty of the British crown....
to soup du jour with herbal bread rolls. It provides scope for interaction between audience and performers after a show. In addition, it is a venue for theatre festival-related seminars and activities, special talks and lectures.
Annual Theatre Festival
Ranga Shankara hosts an annual theatre festival, with plays in all languages being staged, along with readings and platform performances. The festival has become a landmark on the Bangalore theatre scene. In 2011, it will be hosting the fourth annual theatre festival. To be held from October 15 to 23, it has Politics in Play as the central theme and is being curated by theatre personality and journalist Prakash BelawadiPrakash Belawadi
Prakash Belawadi is a journalist and a theatre person from Bangalore, India. He is a co-founder of Centre of Film and Drama which is set to launch Suchitra School of Cinema and Dramatic Arts at the Suchitra Cinema and Cultural Academy campus in Bangalore....
. This year's panellists include journalist Aakar Patel and academic Chandan Gowda.
External links
- Ranga Shankara Official website
- An experience called 'Ranga Shankara' on Deccan HeraldDeccan HeraldThe Deccan Herald is a leading English-language daily newspaper distributed in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is published by the Printers Private Limited and has a number of editions in Bangalore, Hubli, Mysore, Mangalore and Gulbarga....