Celebrated flautist, the legendary Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia has become the latest artiste to protest the demolition of Pranganga Amphitheatre at Bhavan’s Cultural Centre in Andheri West. Pranganga, a landmark cultural venue, was located near a lake inside the Bhavan’s campus. It was an amphitheatre where celebrated musical artistes and veterans performed through the years. It was an oasis of art in a city where such spaces are rapidly shrinking. The protesters have called out Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the trust in charge of the amphitheatre, for the demolition.

Different pleas

Pt Chaurasia in a voice note, which is doing the rounds in cyberspace, introduced himself humbly as a “bansuriwala” and said he was greatly anguished by the demolition of the Pranganga auditorium. The space, he said, was a mandir for theatre artistes and urged for rebuilding the amphitheatre, on behalf of all the artistes.