Hemant Bharat Ram, businessman and theatre revivalist
When Hemant Bharat Ram was growing up, the home of his grandfather, the well-known industrialist and philanthropist Sir Lala Bharat Ram was “run like a hotel”.
“My grandfather liked to invite over people from all walks of life—politicians, bureaucrats and musicians. Lunchtime would be crazy. We wouldn’t know who would be dropping in next. Many of them would even stay over.”
Delhi has changed, feels the soft-spoken IT entrepreneur who sold his business in 2006 and runs the company’s textile division and also devotes time to running the Sriram Center for the Performing Arts. Hemu, as his friends call him, is not best friends with influential families now. “The nature of interaction has changed. In the past there was a lot of sincerity, which is today lacking to some extent. My friends are mostly professionals I can share my value systems with.” The change is reflected on the children in Delhi, he feels. “Back then social interaction was unstructured and kids would drop into each others’ houses randomly.” He loves picnics with his daughter, both in the city and abroad.
In a metropolis which doesn’t have a tradition of paying for theatre tickets, Hemant is trying to make Sri Ram Centre accessible to Delhi idle classes. Many of Hemant’s friends say they cannot follow Hindi plays. He doesn’t understand the antipathy of “the middle and upper middle-class in Delhi against Hindi theatre. “I tell my friends Hindi movie samajh aati hai to yeh bhi aa jayega!”
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