MARGAO: The pathetic state of the basic facilities at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao continues till date and with no proper maintenance of the sound system installed in the main auditorium of the Pai Agostinho Hall the situation has resulted in major hardships to the stage performing artistes, especially the Tiatrists.
This has also created a very bad impact on the Tiatr competition of A and B groups organised by Kala Academy (Goa) at the bhavan.
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Speaking to Herald several group leaders, who participated in the Tiatr competition, have complained about the poor sound system, and they are claiming that it has affected their performance too. Pathetic state of the basic facilities has also resulted in hardships before the Tiatr artists.
Many tiatr artists have even claimed that there has been mischief in order to create hurdles so that Tiatrists stop performing in this Pai Agostinho auditorium.
However, the officials at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao have claimed that they are doing maintenance of the sound system in the auditorium on a regular basis.
It is pertinent to note that in wake of ongoing repair work of the Kala Academy at Panjim, the annual Tiatr competition of A and B groups has been shifted to Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. The B group Tiatr competition which began on March 8 concluded on March 15 and the competition of A group began from March 17 and ended on March 28. However, many group leaders have claimed that the poor sound sytem has created a bad impact on their overall presentation.
Even with no canteen facility at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao has resulted in hardships to Tiatr artists, and even to the audiences.
Speaking to Herald, William Fernandes, tiatr writer who took part in A group, complained that the sound arrangements at the main auditorium of Ravindra Bhavan, Margao was very poor.
“It seems that the officials of the Ravindra Bhavan are not serious towards the basic facilities such as sound arrangement which is one of the basic necessities to present the tiatr or any other stage performance”, he said.
He further said that they did not expect such type of poor sound arrangement at the Bhavan, and that too at the time of Tiatr competition, which is considered as one of the main competitions in the tiatr field.
“If the sound system is perfect, then it means that it is not operated properly”, he added.
Pascoal de Chicalim, a famed tiatrist who is one of the actors in one of the tiatr presented in B group, alleged that this is a deliberate attempt to discourage the Tiatrist so that tiatr performance is stopped in the auditorium.
“Sound arrangements at the Ravindra Bhavan are a total flop show. We have noticed that even the judges sitting in the front row were not able to hear the voice of the singers. The concerned officials at the Ravindra Bhavan should have rectified the same before the commissioning of the Tiatr competition”, he stated.
Pascoal also charged that the basic facilities at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao are in pathetic state, as even the toilets in the green room are not in proper condition. The sound speakers installed in the green room, besides the VIP room, are not functioning.
According to reliable sources from the Ravindra Bhavan, this autonomous body has even failed to renew the Annual Maintenance Contract on time. The government is not serious in resolving the issues of the Ravindra Bhavan despite putting up the proposals on several occasions, the sources alleged.
“The last time repair of the sound system, which was installed by investing lakhs of rupees, was done in 2009 at the time of IFFI”, said the sources.
Shockingly, even the officials are of the opinion that the present sound system needs to be upgraded, keeping in mind the advanced technology.
“We are doing maintenance of the sound system over here on the regular intervals, and for which one private agency has been appointed to carry out the works”, said Videsh Naik, Theatre Manager, when contacted.
He refused to comment more on the other issues related to the pathetic conditions of the basic facilities.
