Ravindra Kalakshetra is a cultural centre in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

which provides a home for musical and theatrical performances. Located in heart of Bangalore city, it was built to commemorate the birth centenary of Nobel laureate

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. Many well known theatre and film personalities like

Umashree Umashree (born 10 May 1957) is an Indian actress and politician. She is known for her portrayal of film roles spoken in the Kannada language (over 400), particularly comic roles. She received National Film Award for Best Actress for her role a ...

Mukhyamantri Chandru Honnasandra Narasimhaiah Chandrashekar (born 28 August 1953), known popularly as Mukhyamantri Chandru, is an Indian actor and politician. As an actor, he is known for his work in Kannada theatre and cinema. The sobriquet ''Mukhyamantri'' (Chief ...

T. S. Nagabharana Talakadu Srinivasaiah Nagabharana (born 23 January 1953), commonly known as T. S. Nagabharana, is an Indian film director, in the Kannada film industry and a pioneer of parallel cinema. He is one of the few film directors to have straddled th ...

, Master Hirannaiah, C. R. Simha,

T. N. Seetharam Thalagavara Narayanarao Seetharam (born 6 December 1948) is a prominent Kannada film and TV serial director, actor and screenwriter. He has become a cultural icon in Karnataka, India, through his work in several art mediums. Seetharam has writ ...

, and

Prakash Rai Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of severa ...

among others have performed at Kalashektra.

History

In 1959, a high-level committee was formed to build the Kalakshetra under the chairmanship of then chief minister

B. D. Jatti Basappa Danappa Jatti () (10 September 1912 – 7 June 2002) was the fifth vice president of India, serving from 1974 to 1979. He was acting President of India from 11 February to 25 July 1977.He also served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. ...

, with cultural stalwarts like

Shivaram Karanth Kota Shivaram Karanth (10 October 1902 – 9 December 1997), also abbreviated as K. Shivaram Karanth, was an Indian polymath, who was a novelist in Kannada language, playwright and an ecological conservationist. Ramachandra Guha called him th ...

, Mallikarjuna Mansur,

Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Goruru Ramaswamy Iyengar (1904–1991), popularly known as Goruru, was an Indian writer who wrote in Kannada. He was well known for his humour and satire. Early life Goruru Ramaswami Iyengar was born at "Goruru" in Hassan district of Karnataka ...

, T. Chowdaiah and Vimala Rangachar as members. The auditorium was to commemorate the birth centenary of the great poet and Nobel laureate

. They began to collect funds towards the purpose. Famous personalities like

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Gan ...

, a popular Tamil cine actor and others came forward to contribute for the construction of the Kalakshetra. The foundation stone for the Kalakshetra was laid on 16 September 1960. It was designed by architect Charles Wilson and chief engineer BR Manikyam. The Kalakshetra was eventually inaugurated on 9 March 1963 by Dr Humayun Kabir, the then Union Minister for Education of Karnataka.

Facilities

The Kalakshetra has a modern and technically developed auditorium with 900-seat capacity, including 400 in balcony, lighting systems, an acoustics and many other facilities. In the entrance stands a statue of the poet in a glass showcase that greets the audience visiting the kalakshetra. Audio system, imported from France, includes special front speakers for VIP members in the front row and monitor speakers for the performers on the stage. The entire theatre is equipped with computerized lighting system, with around 120 lights. It also has proper communication system between backstage and control system using Production Intercom Communication System. It also has an open air theatre called ''‛Samsa Bayalu Rangamandira’'', named after famous Kannada playwright Samsa.

References

{{coord missing, Karnataka Theatrical organisations in India Buildings and structures in Bangalore Culture of Bangalore Theatres in India Website: http://kalakshetra1.kannadasiri.co.in/