It has been five months since K.H. Kala Soudha — the art space that has been a hub for cultural activities since 2009 — was shut following an increase in rental fee. Artistes now plan to protest in a unique way to get the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to reopen the space: they are going to do it with art.
“Street plays, storytelling sessions and light music performances are being planned from Friday onwards. All these will be held in front of the locked Kala Soudha,” said thespian Satish Chandra P.D. The details and time frame of the protest are still being hashed out.
Kala Soudha was run by the Prakasam Trust from 2009 to February 2017. Initially, the lease period was for five years, but after it expired the civic body extended it with a fixed rent of ₹10,000 a month. In February this year, the rent was revised to ₹40,000. The BBMP also asked the trust to pay arrears of ₹30,000 a month, adding up to ₹7.8 lakh.
Several artistes and citizens have already voiced their opinion in an online petition on Change.org. The #savekalasoudha campaign has garnered around 2,100 signatures and citizens are also being asked to share their stories about Kala Soudha on Twitter and Facebook.
Anuradha H.R., artistic director of Untitled Arts Foundation, said: “As artistes, we have only our art. We are now relying on that to put our requests forward.” She said the BBMP was obligated to make public spaces available for art. “The BBMP’s role is not restricted to building roads and underpasses. There has to be a vision for art, which is very important for human development. If there is no such vision, why then does the BBMP build these public spaces?”
Apart from reopening Kala Soudha immediately, the other main demands of the artistes are to keep the rental as it is, allow people access to affordable theatre spaces, and ensure the space is dedicated to cultural performances.
Tenders floated
The BBMP has floated tenders seven times for running the cultural space. Though the trust participated, trustees say it was not awarded the tender. The BBMP claims otherwise.
A BBMP official, on condition of anonymity, said all seven times, the bids were rejected. “This time around, the tender was rejected as the lowest bidder had submitted an expired bank guarantee record,” the official said.
Senior officials also said it may not be possible to reopen the space with low rentals, as demanded by the artistes. “They want the monthly rent to be only ₹10,000. We spend more than that just on maintenance. How can the civic body run the space by incurring a loss?” the official added.
