A once pulsating centre of art and culture in the capital city of Goa, Kala Academy in Panjim has been more than a venue for performances. Designed by architect Charles Correa in 1970, this heritage site was the centre of attraction for various headlining events, festivals and concerts for decades. The unexpected announcement of its closure for renovation and the demolishing of its amphitheatre came as a setback to art and theatre lovers.
The stage roof of the open-air auditorium at Kala Academy collapsed on Monday. This not only meant the physical collapse of an architectural masterpiece but also a major blow to the hopes of art lovers who were looking forward to the opening of Kala Academy in Panjim.
Musical operetta ‘When Christ was Crucified’ was directed by Fr Noel Menezes and staged at Kala Academy amphitheatre in 2011. Fr Noel still has fond memories of the venue. “The grandeur of the Kala Academy amphitheatre was one that you would see abroad in bigger venues. With no allotted seats, the entire seating area was so pleasant and professional that you can’t compare that experience to the indoor auditorium. No matter where you sat, the whole view was amazing. You were not far from the stage and would feel one with the audience and a part of the amphitheatre. The audience also interacted so much that it would be like an extension of the stage,” explains Fr Noel.
Sharing his experience after receiving the news about the collapse, Fr Noel says, “I was speechless wondering if this was a bad dream. This place has created beautiful memories for so many people and when you think of a bigger shows in the North, it’s the one venue that comes to mind. The photos in the news brought to mind the question, is it over? Is Goa’s art scene over? This is what happens when you over-exhaust your resources without maintaining and then a piece of heritage is not with you anymore.”
‘Pormoll Konkani Songitacho’ by REXperience featured Konkani singers with a jazz influence in 2016. Even then, the music director Joe D’Costa was informed about the fragility of the amphitheatre. He was warned to restrict the seating to the front rows and had to repeatedly inform members of the audience to avoid the back seats. The concert was a great success with singers like Nephie Rod, Saby F of ‘Mira Mira’ fame and Sonia Shirsat taking the stage. The music for the concert was composed and arranged by Joe, originally from Curchorem.
“The amphitheatre was more free to breathe than the artificial air in the indoor auditorium. We could do the lighting much better and we could directly coordinate with the audience. It was a cheaper option and we could use our own sound. The capacity of the amphitheatre was also larger than the indoor auditorium. I have been to amphitheatres in Delhi and Mumbai and Kala Academy was definitely on par with them,” says Joe, who is based in Mumbai and travels regularly to his hometown.
“The collapse of such an important venue is very sad but luckily no one was hurt. It is the theatre stage and would have been devastating if an artist was hurt. The photographs show that the roof collapsed completely on the stage. Even though ‘Pormoll Konkani Songitacho’ was my only major concert in Goa, it was risky and I had to keep announcing throughout the performance to take the front spaces,” adds Joe.
Joaquim Teles has been the president of the Panjim Carnival Committee that organised the three-day Tiatr Festival for decades at the iconic Kala Academy amphitheatre. “We organised the Tiatr Festival for over 20 years and besides these tiatrs, we also organised an annual tiatr for the Panjim Feast, the Feast of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception on December 8 as well as an Easter tiatr. These five days were always booked at the Kala Academy amphitheatre. It was the best venue when it came to entertaining a large audience and had a seating capacity of 1700 seats as compared to 900 seats in the indoor auditorium. We knew these shows are crowd pullers and we didn’t want to disappoint anyone. In 2017, we were informed that the amphitheatre was not available for shows and we had to stage our tiatrs in the auditorium. From being shut for ten months in 2019 and assurances of opening in 2021, we are now in 2023 and with this collapse, we are looking at another year of opening. It’s really bad and devastating to see such a beautiful art space in this shape,” says Panjim-based Joaquim.
Help & Help Charitable Trust, Margao organised one of the most popular All Goa Carol Singing Competition for many years at the Kala Academy amphitheatre. With tiny tots running around with matching outfits according to their groups was a sight to see. Being centrally located, the space gave equal opportunities for groups across the state. Unfortunately, with the closing of the Kala Academy, not just the performers but even the audience have been missing out on the charm of carols in the capital.
“From 2018, we had to shift the event to Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. The amphitheatre was so much friendlier with kids freely moving around as they awaited their performance, spacious, more popular and even cheaper to book than the auditorium. This is such an important government venue and it is really sad and disgusting that we had to wait for it fall. This was the only amphitheatre of this magnitude in Goa and it provided a stage for so many artists to showcase their talent,” says Savio Fernandes of Help & Help Charitable Trust, Margao.
The last concert that Namah Society organised at the Kala Academy auditorium was the 11th annual concert in February 2019. The concert brought together the best of musicians from Goa and abroad at a single venue with a wonderful blend of rock and raga, with crossover music, and splendid dance recitals. Christo Fernandes was in shock to hear the news about the collapse of the roof and the image of the same brought out great emotions. “Kala Academy was a fantastic place for all our concerts. We loved the venue, the place and the people that came in to witness our concerts. Since 2019, we didn’t organise our annual concerts as we are waiting for the venue. We did organise smaller concerts at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao and at International Centre Goa, Dona Paula but we are still missing out on the audience and the connect that Kala Academy offered,” concludes Christo.
