The year endeth
ON STAGE
| There must be a reason, maybe as banal as that the Christian world did not want their Christmas vacation spoilt by hectic financial activity that marks the closing of the financial year, but I sincerely do not know it. |
| Whatever the reason, this time of the year witnesses the largest number of events and projects being completed, resulting in a flurry of activity difficult to keep pace with. |
| You see, if you have received a government grant for a project, or even private funding, the condition is that the monies should have been spent latest by March 31. And, of course, everyone wakes up from collective amnesia to realise on March 1, even if the funds have been received a year earlier, that lots of funds are remaining which will have to be returned if they were not spent fast. And so begins the race to finish the funds resulting in hundreds of theatre, dance, music and other performances, discussions, seminars, workshops "" all in the months of February and March. |
| This is also the end of pleasant weather in Delhi, so the organisers explain this rush of activities to that phenomenon. This is called the cultural season. |
| But I seriously suspect that the financial year is governing the timing of these activities. It would be an interesting exercise to announce July as the closing of the financial year and see if all activity is still concentrated in February-March. |
| Anyway, the impact of this year-end is huge on the cultural calendar. Try getting an auditorium for any programme at this time of year and you will be laughed at. |
| In fact, I think that if the auditoria followed the practice that hotels have of different rates for peak season and lean season, they would have raked in big moolah during this season (not that they already don't make big money). And why only auditoria, even artistes and seminarists could ask for remuneration according to the season. |
| If you have seen the programmes that are held in these two months, the artistes are really spread thin, with every organiser grumbling that just no one is available. It doesn't need too much intelligence to guess why! Naturally then, the second rung in the ladder turn lucky because the programmes have to take place, the funds just have to be spent, no matter how! |
| At this time of the year Delhi also becomes the cultural capital of the country, as most of the grant receiving bodies are concentrated here. It truly is a cultural overkill with people like me feeling exhausted merely looking at the listings on the cultural calendar. |
| I wonder how many people actually make it to any of the events. Even though most important cultural organisations are located within a four-kilometre radius, they do not bother to check with each other on overlap, leave aside any duplications. |
| Then there is also a mysterious practice followed by government departments, and maybe other funding bodies "" that of releasing funds in the last week of March for large projects, meant to be utilised before March 31 the same year. |
| How that is expected to be done remains an enigma "" for only a wizard can accomplish this task. And yet it obviously is accomplished, for this practice continues year after year. Or, it may well be an April Fool prank on those receiving grants! |