Rangayana director caught in cross hairs for inviting Hindu leader for theatre fest

Mysore: Two separate protests were held here on Tuesday, one demanding removal of Addanda Cariappa as director of Rangayana, a theatre institute, and another for retaining him.

Members of Kodava Samaj, Mysuru Rakshana Vedike and Karnataka Rakshana Vedike staged a protest in front of deputy commissioner's office, alleging that a group led by a former director of Rangayana was mentally torturing Cariappa. The protestors alleged that a handful of people were organising daily protests in front of Rangayana obstructing theatre activities.

A group from "Save Rangayana" movement are urging the State government to remove Cariappa. The relay protest entered ninth day on Tuesday in front of the institute.

Trouble started over invitation of Hindu leader Chakravarthi Sulibele as chief guests for the Bahuroopi theatre festival scheduled to be held in January by Cariappa. They alleged that Sulibele had neither theatre experience nor any connection with artists. Defending his move, Cariappa said that Chakravarthi is a social worker who with the help of a team of thousands of youths cleaned up hundreds of lakes in various parts of the State.

Protesters have rejected an appeal by the police to stop the agitation on the premises of the theatre for the past eight days.

Rangayana, the foremost theatre institute in the State, consists of a professional repertory company, a theatre-training institute and a documentation and research centre. Rangayana offers courses in stage craft, preparation and presentation of plays in Kannada. It also conducts programs for promotion of Kannada theatre. Rangayana hosts a theatre festival in Mysore every year. It is the only government sponsored repertory in the country and brainchild of B V Karanth, an actor and musician of modern Indian theatre both in Kannada as well as Hindi, and one of the pioneers of Kannada and Hindi new wave cinema.