Entry passes to Commonwealth culture show in short supply
October 12th, 2010 - 5:59 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Entry passes and tickets to the culture festival of the Commonwealth Games 2010 are in short supply — much to the chagrin of enthusiasts in the capital.
More than 100 culture enthusiasts had to return empty-handed Sunday evening as the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Kamani Theatre, LTG theatre and the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra closed their ticket counters almost an hour before the programmes were to begin.
“We did not foresee the rush. We had limited number of tickets,” said a volunteer manning the ticket vending machine at the Kamani Theatre.
The tickets were priced between Rs.100 and Rs.500.
Entry passes for programmes like Sangeet Marg and the Delhi Classical Music Festival were even more difficult to procure as there were no officials in sight.
“We were willing to shell out even Rs.500, but by 10.45 a.m., Sangeet Natak Akademi stopped selling tickets for Kul Varnika,” Jagat Sahai, a computer programmer and an amateur musician from North Delhi, told IANS.
He wanted to watch Kolkata-based dancer Priti Patel perform to the poetry of Bangladeshi poet Jasimuddin’s composition, “Nakshi Kanthar Math”.
Even tickets to the children’s theatre festival “Jashn-e-Bachpan” organised by the National School of Drama (NSD) are unavailable.
“I take my daughter to this festival every year and always get tickets before the show starts. But Monday, I tried for a Hindi play, several hours in advance, and was told that all shows were completely sold out till Oct 15. What’s the point of advertising them on a daily basis then,” asked Partha Guha.
Kamal Mandal and his wife, residing in Mayur Vihar in East Delhi, could not watch the Ramayan Festival at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra Saturday. “We were late by 30 minutes,” Mandal told IANS.
The couple then walked in to Lalit Kala Akademi to watch the exhibition, “Art Celebrates 2010″.
Organisers said tickets for Ratan Thiyam’s Manipuri adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s “When We Dead Awaken” at Meghdoot were sold in advance.
“It is not everyday that one gets an opportunity to see Thiyam’s plays,” the organiser said.
The Qutab Festival too returned several people citing shortage of entry passes.
Complaints were galore. “But we cannot accommodate everyone. We can seat a limited number of people,” a festival functionary at the Kamani Theatre said.
Several media representatives too had to pay their way in.
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Tags: amateur musician, classical music festival, commonwealth games 2010, computer programmer, culture enthusiasts, culture festival, daily basis, east delhi, exhibition art, jagat, jashn, kamani, manipuri, national school of drama, north delhi, ratan thiyam, sangeet natak akademi, shriram, ticket counters, ticket vending machine