Sudesh Sharma, newly appointed chairman of Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi, plans to scout for talents at the grassroots level
Sheetal
Theatre activist and founder of Theatre for Theatre (TFT) Sudesh Sharma has been appointed as the chairman of the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi. The Akademi functions under the aegis of the Chandigarh Arts Council and Department of Cultural Affairs, Chandigarh Administration, UT, Chandigarh. Its main function is to promote the performing arts in the city and encourage talent in the fields of music, dance and drama.
Sharma has been actively involved in theatre through his theatre group TFT and as the newly-appointed chairman, he stresses, “It’s not just theatre, but also sangeet, nritya and other art forms that our organisation will promote. We will connect with Himachal Bhavan, Uttrakhand Bhavan and all the other regional representative centres of other states and encourage everyone to stay connected to folk music, lok nritya and other art forms.” Furthermore, Sharma feels the need of the hour is to decentralise the system and include community centres to scout for talent. While he gives a bird-eye view of his plans to revive the theatre and other art forms, Sharma doesn’t forget the biggest challenge. “Despite having theatre lovers in the city, we could never make it a ticketed experience so as to support the artistes. It’s not a problem within the city but in the entire North region. The government has its own way of allocating funds and one cannot put the onus solely on them.” As he strives to make the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi on par with the nation’s best, he has plans to conduct workshops, camps and events throughout the year, which post-Covid has taken a backseat.
