Clean, green and serene, Natshala inspires creativity

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 12

“When we were deciding upon the design for Punjab Natshala in 1998, I wanted to make it stand out as an eco-friendly and energy-efficient structure,” says Jatinder Brar, patron, Punjab Natshala and playwright. Today, it is setting an example by becoming an eco-friendly building in the city and using green energy as its major source of power consumption.

Switching over to solar energy fully and having a water-harvesting unit installed already, natshala is also structurally sound proof to avoid noise pollution. “Our mud layer design is acoustically improved and it absorbs 80 per cent of sound. This means better sound quality for our plays and no noise pollution for people outside the stage hall,” says Brar, who is a mechanical engineer as well and designed the building himself. The premise was full of Ashoka trees, which are a naturally sound proof medium.

With a 20 kw solar-power panel that has cut down on 75 per cent of its power expenses, natshala has also promoted solar power as a progressive and sustainable solution for all energy needs.

“We had been experimenting with the idea of having clean energy. Now, we have not only cut down on our energy dependency on conventional source, but also save money on bills, since we require power for our hi-tech light and sound shows every evening.” For each play of one-hour duration, approx 200 units of electricity were consumed, costing Rs 5,000. Now, he says, they consume 50 units of electricity, with the expenses cut down to Rs 400.

They are looking forward to not just energy saving but energy generation also. With serene and green premises, natshala has always been high on the list of eco-friendly buildings. With chopping of trees outside its gates, due to BRTS project, natshala has now created small green spaces inside its premises, to compensate for the loss of trees and plants.