For many south Bengalureans, Dr. H.N. Kalakshetra at National College, Jayanagar, has been a place where they congregated for concerts, Yakshagana performances, dance programmes, school annual days, plays, talks and more for over three decades. But now it is time for the 600-seat auditorium to end its legacy and make way for an engineering college, with an auditorium on one of the floors.
Dr. H. Narasimhaiah.
| Photo Credit:
BHAGYA PRAKASH
Established in January 1986, this iconic performance space —simply called “H.N.” by locals — is named after renowned rationalist, educator, freedom fighter, and writer Hosur Narasimhaiah and is run by the National Education Society (NES) of Karnataka. Expected to be demolished by month’s end, the NES has decided to build a five-story engineering college in its place, which will include one floor dedicated to an 800-seater state-of-the-art auditorium.
Theatre persons gathered on 11th January to remember the golden days of H.N. Kalakshetra
| Photo Credit:
k BHAGYA PRAKASH
Speaking to The Hindu, V. Venkatasiva Reddy, Secretary, National College, said that the performance space will be demolished by the end of January or first week of February and that it would take anywhere between one-and-a-half to two years for the new auditorium and engineering college to be completed.
Most of these troupes rehearsed here, made sets and costumes, performed and spent at least a minimum of 90 days on each production.
| Photo Credit:
k BHAGYA PRAKASH
Birthplace of college teams
H.N. is a place of great nostalgia theatrepersons, as since its inception the performance space has been a breeding ground for college theatre teams, which have now turned into amateur and professional troupes. Most of these troupes rehearsed here, made sets and costumes, performed and spent at least a minimum of 90 days on each production.
Recently the theatre community of Bengaluru came together for an evening of nostalgia, celebration, and bittersweet farewells where many renowned troupes, senior theatre artists including B. Jayahsree, Arundhati Nag, Gowri Dattu, T.N. Seetharam, B. Suresha, Gundanna, and many young artistes shared their memory of the space.
Arvind Nadig, an amateur theatre artist who has been practising theatre for more than 15 years, said that the building may be razed but not the memories. “Many like me learnt the magic of theatre from here. For amateur theatre groups H. N. was the place to rehearse, train and prepare themselves. It was not just a location, but as a place, it had its own vibe that talks about the legacy it has had. It was also a space of discipline, which included reaching the venue on time, cleaning the space before the rehearsals, and just getting lost in the entire process of training,” he said. Arvind added that most people called the space their second home, as they would spend a lot of their time through the day, practicing and training for their shows.
H.N. Kalakshetra
| Photo Credit:
K BHAGYA PRAKASGH
No inhibitions
Cinema actor and theatre maker Balaji Manohar said that both amateur and professional theatre makers benefitted from the space. “Professionals sought new players to be a part of their play, and new players were looking for inspiration from professionals. H.N. was that space that had this synergy where three-four plays would be rehearsed at the venue at the same time. No rehearsals happened behind closed doors, we all highly benefitted from this as we would watch other teams, actors and directors work, as we waited outside for our slot. That was the beauty of the space. We were exposed and functioned without any inhibition,” he said. Balaji added that the space was very accommodative and nominal, because of which it worked out economical for most teams.
Ujwala Rao, a young English and Kannada theatre maker and actor, said that the place is an integral part of her cultural memory. “I have watched amazing performances there, rehearsed for many of my plays and have also performed many shows, it is really heart breaking that it is closing, and it feels like an end to an era,” she said. Ujwala added that she remembers always being excited to perform at H.N. despite having performed at other auditoriums like Ravindra Kalakshetra, A.D.A. Rangamandira and others. “There was something that felt very intimate, safe, fun and familiar about H.N. Kalakshetra whenever you performed, because you would have already used the space so often for your rehearsals. You would know that the show would be perfect, it would be relaxed, and it felt like today we were performing in our backyard,” she added.
Rudraiah
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k BHAGYA PRAKASH
Many school days
The news of the space being demolished has also sent public and residents, who live around the college, on a nostalgia trip. “From L.K.G. to P.U.C., for 14 years of my life as a student, I have danced on the stage of H. N. Kalakshetra during every annual day and at other events. I can not imagine my childhood without this space. It is heart breaking to hear that it will be demolished to build a college,” said Rakesh Mane. Similarly, Arpita V., a radio producer, says that it is hard to accept that her journey with H.N. has come to an end. “I did theatre when I was in college, and this is where we spent most of our time. Many of us have had a lot of our firsts here. HN was that best friend you made in college, and I thought it would lasts forever.”
One of the reasons for the space feeling like “home” for everyone Rudraiah, who has been looking after the auditorium since its inception. Rudraiah is a staff at the National College, Jayanagar, and a professional lighting designer. However, for many theatre artistes, Rudraiah was more than just a technician. He was a guide and a friend to talk to.
Actor and director Krishna Hebbale, said people like Rudraiah have stood by by artistes through the theatre journey. “We were a minimum of 30 people working on a production, and he would get us food for several days from his home. We would also end up sleeping in his house a lot of times,” he explained. “There have been times when a crisis would befall, and Rudraiah would be the first person to save us from trouble. Now, 30 years later, we still give him a call and he asks what have you done now?” laughs Krishna.
Make up room at H.N. Kalakshetra
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k BHAGYA PRAKASH
Change is inevitable
Sharing his memory of working with National College, Jayanagar, 73-year-old Rudraiah said that it is time to accept change, and it is inevitable. “Yes, it is hard to see something I have grown up with being demolished. Whatever I am today, it is because of the college and H.N. Four decades ago, I had no idea what light and sound meant. Today I travel around doing lights and sound for many events. H.N. needs a lot of technical improvement. This new building will have everything on the technical front and a bigger seating capacity.”
He said that 13 years past his retirement age, the college still wants him to be with them. “To be honest, it is hard for me to fall asleep in my own home, but I sleep like a baby in the corridors of the college and H.N. Kalakshetra. It is hard for me to be away from this place,” Rudraiah says.
Top-notch facilities
Reddy said that demolishing of the old auditorium is inevitable, as they are expecting more admissions in the coming months, and they need more classrooms. “But the new building will come with a huge auditorium with top notch tech facilities, as it is the need of both us and the community. Finances for the new building are yet to be finalised, however, we have a lot of alumni, and one of them has come forward to donate a crore for the structure,” he said.
Reddy added that a temporary stage will be put up in the ground, which will be used for college activities and by the community during the weekends, while the building is being constructed.
Published – January 16, 2025 09:00 am IST
