Making a come back

Located in a quiet forgotten corner of the sprawling portals of the Balgandharva Rang Mandir the Rehearsal hall...

Located in a quiet forgotten corner of the sprawling portals of the Balgandharva Rang Mandir the Rehearsal hall,which had been in a state of utter disarray and neglect for the last 40 years is all set to come back to life after a conscious decision taken by the Rang Mandir officials to revive it,for the use of theatre artistes and dancers,all alike.

Speaking about the decision to revive the hall,Amar Pardeshi,Manager,Balgandharva Rang Mandir,says,”It was a conscious decision taken by us after Sunil Mahajan,of the theatre Group ‘SAnvad” wrote a letter to us asking whether the hall could be reused. The 2400 sq ft hall,which was constructed under the insistence of the late P L Deshpande,had been lying in a mess for the last 40 years. Not only was the area steeped with a lot of waste props and artifacts,but also even the rainwater and leaking ceilings had played their part and ensured that the hall had stagnated. The water logging infact was so severe in some corners that we had to actually install a pump to remove the water out.”

Artistes and performers used to hold their rehearsals originally in hall. However after the hall began to be neglected and thrashed the artistes had to scout various other places to hold their rehearsals. Once the hall is ready it will be rented out to the artistes for a nominal sum of Rs. 100-150 for every four hours. This is very less as compared to the other halls in the city which charge a minimum of Rs. 350 for renting it out for three hours,says Pardeshi.

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Pradeep Kumar Kamble,the oldest member of the management committee,who has been working for the last 30 years,says,”Ever since I began working here 30 years back the rehearsal hall has remained closed. It has been used as a dump for all the refuse,a godown for props and for everything other than a rehearsal hall. However with a lot of conscious efforts of theatre groups and the management the hall will be re-opened on January 14.”

Visibly excited,Pardeshi says,”The inauguration is going to take place at the hands of noted film and theatre personality,Dilip Prabhavalkar and the mayor of the city. We have repainted the entire hall,cleaned and drained it out and also repaired the leaking roof. The fresh new look of the hall will be appealing to both theatre artistes as well as us members of the management.”

More future expansion plans for the Balgandharva Rangmandir include modifying the existing rooms used to house theatre artistes by constructing attached bathrooms and also installing air conditioners,and also improving the overall aesthetic appearances of the rooms to make them more actor friendly.

‘With more and more famous and upcoming television and film stars coming in to do serious Marathi theatre it is of prime importance that their rooms too be kept up to date with the modern times to ensure that their stay at the theatre is hassle free. The work on the renovation will begin by the next fortnight and be completed within the next four months,” says Pardeshi before signing off.

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And somewhere in the far background the peaceful humming of an electric drill in the walls of the Rehearsal hall slowly breathes life back into it.

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