NSD director B.V. Karanth unable to make up his mind on his resignation

Shriram Centre: Buzzing with rumoursB.V. Karanth, 50, director of the National School of Drama (NSD) who resigned four months ago, can't seem to make up his mind as to whether or not he should bid a final farewell to the school. "They want me to reconsider my resignation. I am going on paid leave. But more or less I have decided to quit. I want to work for a repertory, preferably in north India," Karanth told India Today.Karanth's statements notwithstanding, a host of questions remained unanswered: If he had decided to leave, why had he let himself be persuaded into withdrawing his resignation? Why had he stayed on in the school four months after he had handed in his resignation? Why was he going on leave since he had decided to quit?Even as the speculation persisted about whether or not Karanth would continue as director after he had come back from his leave, the reaction within the school was largely one of anger. Said one NSD teacher: "The school has been reduced to a mockery to accommodate the whims of an indecisive individual." The school tried to cope with the crisis as best as it could.Karanth: UndecidedThe school's society announced that in Karanth's absence an officiating director would look after the school. Kapila Vatsyayan, joint education adviser to the Department of Culture in the Ministry of Education, in her personal capacity as a member of the society said: "The chairman of the society has been authorised to take a decision for the short term if Karanth is staying and for a long term if he is quitting."However, the Chairman, L.M. Singhvi, was optimistic about Karanth's continuation. Said he: "He is a creative artiste. Rules can't be applied on him like a clerk. He has been persuaded to stay. We hope to have him with us after his leave".Another Departure: About the same time as these debates went on, the director of Shriram Centre for Art and Culture, Rajendra Nath, 46, quit after falling out with the executive vice-chairman of the centre, Panna Bharat Ram, 37, wife of Vinay Bharat Ram, of the DCM group. Apparently, the two differed on the role of the centre.Said Panna Bharat Ram: "My priority was the repertory company of the centre, while he wanted to make the centre more of a service institution." Nath, however, did not find any contradiction in the two roles. He said: "The two roles are not mutually exclusive. I never offered the services of the centre to other groups at the cost of its own repertory."Bharat Ram: DissatisfiedAccording to reliable sources, Bharat Ram was peeved at Nath's simultaneous involvement in his drama group Abhiyan, although she did not say it in so many words. But Nath did not see any conflict and was quick to defend himself: "It is unfair to compare the 15-year-old Abhiyan with the nascent repertory of the centre. Nevertheless, the centre produced four plays as compared to the two by Abhiyan last year," he said.Meanwhile, Delhi's Mandi House theatre complex buzzed with rumours which saw a link between the two departures. Nath, some felt, had resigned only to step into Karanth's shoes. A splinter group in the school which wanted to push its own candidate went so far as to launch a signature campaign against Nath's appointment.All this time Nath himself was away in Bombay with his group Abhiyan which was staging shows of Jaat hi Poochho Sadhu ki and Tamrapatra. He was visibly shaken on his return. Said Nath: "When I resigned from the centre it was not even sure that there was a vacancy at the NSD. I deliberately chose this time so that the two might not be connected."Nath is not the only victim of the fracas. All those whose names were in circulation for directorship of NSD became victims of character-assassination. As a result Rudraprasad Sengupta, Jabbar Patel and Habib Tanvir dropped out of the scramble.Nath: Differences of opinionSpeculation: NSD students are left wondering as to who would officiate as director in Karanth's absence. There are three candidates even for this adhoc arrangement: G.N. Das Gupta and B.M. Shah who have earlier officiated at such times and Bansi Kaul the seniormost faculty member who happened to be away on those occasions.The feeling in art circles is that either Karanth is being projected as indispensable or the adhocism is being used to try out a prospective director. Ministry officials indicate that Kaul will serve as officiating director.However, the uncertainty persists at NSD. While the students appreciate Karanth's accent on the folk medium in school productions, his enlargement of the scope of the school and repertory, they feel that he became indecisive before he could consolidate the trends which he had set and was too preoccupied with his film assignments and foreign jaunts.And with Karanth unable to decide whether he will leave or stay, it is felt that the school will ultimately be the worst sufferer. What the students find most irritating of all is that they will have to start the new session after the vacation on the same note of uncertainty, with the same perplexing question - will he stay or won't he?Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 22, 2014 15:32 IST--- ENDS ---

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NSD director B.V. Karanth unable to make up his mind on his resignation

B.V. Karanth, 50, director of the National School of Drama who resigned four months ago, can't seem to make up his mind as to whether or not he should bid a final farewell to the school.

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