Lack of funds, attention ‘takes a toll’ on cultural spaces in city

AMRITSAR: “Art and cultural spaces, despite their significant existence, never really find mention with the political leaders or the administration concerned, especially in Amritsar,” says Kewal Dhaliwal, president, Virsa Vihar Society, and a noted theatre person.

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 10

“Art and cultural spaces, despite their significant existence, never really find mention with the political leaders or the administration concerned, especially in Amritsar,” says Kewal Dhaliwal, president, Virsa Vihar Society, and a noted theatre person. His views find resonance with the fact that Virsa Vihar, in its 10-year-old existence as a cultural hub in Amritsar, never really received even Rs 10 as grant or development fund from the government.

With the pre-poll buzz at an all-time high and manifestos being presented by political parties, Dhaliwal points out that none of them have any mention about the developing cultural spaces or art. “This is because it is never really a priority for them. We are considered a self-reliant industry and artistes usually have to fend for themselves. That’s the bitter truth. When the parties promise employment generation, I don’t think they include the artiste fraternity in that criterion.”

Considering that Virsa Vihar is one of the two popular art and culture destinations in city, the other one being privately run Punjab Natshala, it mostly runs on crowd funding or the revenue generated by renting out its auditorium and exhibition halls. “We approached several government officials with pilot projects on developing the space, for technical infrastructure and expansion of our space, but were never entertained. Despite several Sahitya Akademi winners and state-award winning writers and theatre personalities being associated with us, we could never qualify for any financial grant by the government.” Virsa Vihar hosts some of the prominent theatre festivals like Bharat Rang Mahotsav – a national school of drama festival, national folk festivals, month-long theatre workshop by National School of Drama and other prominent festivals throughout the year.

Last year, local bodies minister Anil Joshi donated Rs two lakh for required renovation of the auditorium in Virsa Vihar, which underwent some technical up gradations for the first time in 10 years. The other areas like the Dhani Ram Chatrik library that has a collection of 5000 rare Punjabi books and first edition books, need restoration and proper storage facilities. “We also proposed to begin with regular cultural shows at Virsa Vihar to attract tourists. All these projects are in a limbo due to lack of adequate finances,” says Dhaliwal. He also points out that places like Preet Nagar, which was once a live artist community, is also one of the victims of the apathy and neglect towards art spaces.

Dhaliwal feels that the reason for such neglect could be the lack of any budget for art and culture promotion. “There is no amount earmarked by the state government or the administration for promotion and development for art and artistes. Recently, a lineup of art and culture related projects were launched with a promise to boost folk art forms of Punjab, but the already existing ones are crying out loud for attention.”