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Sabhanayaka: S. Ravichandran Brahma Gana Sabha |
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Brahma Gana Sabha was started in 1969 and
S. Ravichandran has been its secretary since 1995. He was the first to
propose the idea of a drama festival in '89 but as there were no sponsors,
it could start only in '91. He is currently working on new concepts and
ideas to evoke more response from the public towards cultural programmes.
Excerpts from a conversation with Carnatica's V. Padmasini...
Why was the December festival held only form last year? We had only monthly programmes in the Music Academy from 1969. They used to conduct their yearly festivals and we did not want to rent another place. Then when we could not pay the rent for the Academy. We concentrated on dramas and dances, having them at Rani Seethai Hall. However the response was poor for music and dance. Luckily we got the auditorium at MCTM School last year. It was October and we thought that if we could get the artists to perform, we would have the festival. We did, and had a festival from Dec. 21st for 10 days. This year it will be from Dec. 3rd to Jan. 2nd. We have awardees for dance (Natya Padmam), Music (Gana Padmam), Drama (Nadaka Padmam). Many sabhas are already conferring titles... BGS is 35 years old. It is a morale-booster for the artists...! The afternoon concerts fetch poor crowds... Why not have a single evening concert? No afternoon concerts? What happens to talent promotion then? Do you feel that if that artiste is featured in the evenings there will be a better crowd? So you are interested in talent promotion... Definitely. Earlier the cost of promoting talent was less, now it is much more. That is why we do a lot in the season. If there are sponsors, there is more scope. First, artists want a stage to develop. Then comes the next step. Last year we were also scared. On the first 4 days there were only 30 to 40 people. Slowly it picked up. 100 people for an unknown artiste is really something... We have 3.40 - 4.30 (Juniors), 4.30 - 6.15 (Sub- seniors). Is it because crowds get dispersed? In other days sabhas don't get crowds. For five years, our drama and music festival in October did not draw crowds. In December probably all go to the concerts, including the NRI crowd. What scale do you adopt to feature an artist? We have a committee, which takes the decision. We approach the artistes and they also come to us. If a request comes from someone we have in mind, then we consider it. In any case we will fill up those who come first. How is the response for dance? There is good response, and we feature 7-8 dancers and we even pay the juniors. What is your feeling about demanding money from the artistes to feature a dance programme? I won't say it is wrong to take money to meet the expenses, and if somebody gives us we will accept. Now it is case of more supply and less demand. For sabhas, it is a big amount to be spent and it is not going to get over with it. Revenue sources are less. We have a budget of Rs. 15- 20,000 Look at it from our side of survival. Membership is dwindling and no sponsors… Why? TV, environment and time restraint. Sponsors are less due to tax restrictions, market conditions. Ten years back it was easy. Now unless you have some personal contact it is not possible. If individuals bring in sponsors we will take them. The junior concerts should not eat us up monetarily. So if they get sponsors we will accept and to become big is dependent on his/her capacity. What happens to a good junior artiste who cannot afford to pay his way through? If he is good he automatically is featured! If somebody recommends a person we try him and if he picks up we feature him regularly. We prefer good singers. Crowd is secondary. Some top artistes are of course featured for publicity. Any unforgettable experience? We feel we should have given awards earlier. When we gave the award to R. S. Manohar last year he said, "Dramas are encouraged only by four or five sabhas and one of them is you". When we get such a response from an artist we feel happy. How is the response for the drama festival? It is from September 15th - 20th at Rani Seethai Hall. Any drama will find a place in our sabha, especially amateur artistes. Half of those acting in TV serials are those featured by us. Response from the public is less now. Sabhas with canteen facilities have better response? Yes. Some people have asked us also. The school has to give permission. But this auditorium is the best auditorium in the city. V. Padmasini |
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