Sabhas cover more ground

Advertisement banners put out by concert organisers proudly announce their parking arrangements

No space to park: Stretch of East Mada Street, Mylapore on Friday. Photo: R. Ragu

On Friday, when the curtains went up on Bhavan’s Cultural Festival at Mylapore, rasikas visitors were ushered into a dedicated parking space. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has made arrangements for rasikas to park their vehicles at Lady Sivaswami Iyer Girls Higher Secondary School. The parking facility provided at the school can accommodate nearly 40 cars. This arrangement will be a regular feature, continuing even after the festival.

“We felt guilty about the road being occupied by vehicles of visitors to Bhavan’s events. Last month, we opened this space at the school after carrying out some development work including rain water harvesting. Valet parking is available for our guests and those who wish to park on their own must get a pass issued by the office,” said K. N. Ramaswamy, director of programmes at Bhavan’s. Wheel chairs and a ramp have also been provided.

With the December season round the corner, the sabhas are also making similar parking arrangements. Some sabhas have mentioned these arrangements in the advertisements they have put out.

Indian Fine Arts, which is changing its venue from German Hall, T. Nagar, to Ethiraj Kalyana Mandapam on TTK Road, wants its guests to face no inconvenience in terms of parking. The Mandapam can accommodate 25 to 30 cars.

“We are planning to provide valet parking to all rasikas and also looking for another space where vehicles can be accommodated,” says R. Radhakrishnan, honorary secretary of Indian Fine Arts.

Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha is also looking for vacant space around Vidya Bharathi, Bheemasena Garden, Mylapore. “Parking is an important factor sabhas have to consider for the success of a festival. But, it remains a huge challenge. Our venue can accommodate 10 cars, so last year we rented a space in the locality where seven more could be parked. This year too, we are looking at converting few houses under construction as parking space,” said M. Krishnamurthy, secretary of the Sabha.

From December 15 to January 9, The Music Academy will be providing additional valet parking for visitors at the St. Ebba’s School grounds on R.K. Salai.