VC Message

Prof. Nagesh V. Bettakote
Vice Chancellor

The world has been undergoing an unprecedented crisis in the current times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. People have encountered innumerable hardships during the lockdown and many have lost their lives, jobs, wealth, and health in a very sudden and unexpected manner. The world has struggled to cope with the crisis. All aspects of human life have been affected and significantly altered in these tough times. Workplace got shifted to home and homes started to function as both living and working spaces. Teaching and learning inevitably embraced the online mode. Many businesses have lost their relevance and new business modes emerged as prominent players. Ecommerce and home delivery networks expanded their businesses drastically. Technology has played a major role in dealing with almost all of these issues.

Entertainment sector and Performing Arts have also not been spared. Movie production, globally, almost came to a standstill and live performances of plays, music and dance were cancelled for over a period of two years. The audience was offered an alternate mode of entertainment through online with different OTTs and live streaming platforms. Gradually,
though the restrictions online performances have been eased and almost lifted subsequently, the audience remains reluctant and doubtful to return to the auditoriums. It is a highly challenging task to restore confidence among the audience and make them return to watch live performances. The audience would require more patience than pity or sympathy towards the performing artists who lost their livelihoods during the pandemic to get back to live shows. It is difficult for the artists in performing arts to rely on the old and traditional modes of performances and is necessary for them to evolve novel ways of expressions to hold and engage the interest of the audiences who are now familiar with many other art forms and modes of accessing them. In this view it is necessary to explore different possibilities for performing arts to sustain its relevance and retain its power of influence over society.