Mudslinging over ‘non-veg’ food at Kalakshetra

She added that classrooms and tuition area for sales of vegetables, clothes, food - including non-veg food items were being sold under the sacred banyan tree, the very heart of the institute. At the centre of the storm seems to be the two-day Reciprocity Fest, held at the Kalakshetra premises, to showcase sustainability and sustainable living, which included an eco-bazaar. 

A video showcasing a flash mob at the event also evoked ire from a section of the dance fraternity.  The post continued, “This has gone on for the past two years with the knowledge of the previous director and senior staff who are now Principal and Acting Director… Our beloved founder Rukmini Devi’s undying, lifetime effort to raise the awareness of artists and to create an environment conducive to the learning of art has, alas, come to naught…. What is the management doing about this? What are the senior teachers doing about it?... Wooden flooring for dance classes that were laid at great expense have been ruined because of the commercial structures built up within the classroom by fake designers. What is the Governing Board doing about it?” 

Responding to the allegations, former Director Priyadarshini Govind stated, “Last year while I was the Director, we collaborated with Reciprocity Foundation, the founder of which is Sheila Sri Prakash, an architect to present a forum. 

The forum consisted of lectures and discussions to raise awareness for eco-friendly and sustainable cities- a topic that we in Chennai should be embracing wholeheartedly. I do not know what happened this year and/or what changes were made to the format since I completed my tenure last year. Kalakshetra is still awaiting the appointment of a new Director…. I vetted the presentation last year and there was nothing untoward to our institution.” Kalakshetra’s Chairman N Gopalaswamy, termed Samson’s claims as “lies”. 

In a letter to the board, he had written, “I may also mention that some unscrupulous elements are playing on sentiments by spreading false information that non-vegetarian food was supplied and that wooden dance floors were damaged. They are utter lies, but the most regrettable part is that a former Director has lent her voice to these unfounded rumours and she did not check facts.”