BENGALURU: "If I have a superpower, I will ask the rich people to set up theatres like Rangashankara in small towns in India," said theatre exponent Arundhati Nag.
Arundhati is the founder of Rangashankara -- one of Bengaluru's cherished theatre spaces, which recently completed its 20th anniversary.
She was in conversation with Kaveree Bamzai, noted author and journalist, at the roundtable with Devis titled 'Leading Change: What's the Superpower?' held as part of the 29th edition of the Devi Awards instituted by The New Indian Express here on Saturday.
Stating that theatres need not always have to come out from places like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and other big cities, Arundhati said it's time theatres are taken to 'B' and 'C' category cities. She added that theatres like Rangashankara being set up in small towns can make a big difference to the place and added that it is her dream.
Educationist and Founder and Managing Trustee of Neev Schools, Kavita Gupta Sabharwal, said: "We deal with around 15,000 children at our school. We also work with government and orphanage schools. We see many children who do not have proper education." She batted for education for all children.
Earlier, at the beginning of the roundtable, Kavita said that while India is changing, education has largely not kept up. "If there is a new tryst to the destiny that India has to make, it has to be education. We have to change the definition of what 'excellence in education' means," she said adding that education must redefine its vision.
Author Samhita Arni said that if she had a superpower, she would create an economy and make arts more productive and generate more revenue.
"There are many young story writers who do not get the right opportunity like the ones we had. I wish to make arts more productive, by creating the infrastructure for publishing, marketing and changing the revenue model, so that it will provide more income to arts professionals," Samhita said.
Jahnavi Phalkey, a historian of science and technology, batted for setting up of public libraries and parks and museum-like galleries, which are located at a 15-minute distance from anywhere.
Jahnavi said that because of the fear of failure, the ability to think differently is severely compromised.
"Failures are everywhere, but nowhere to be seen. Even when historians write about the various aspects in the history of science, failures are seldom said," she added.
She asked how many rockets it took to be launched, before the actual rocket launch. "It is important to bring such things to the public," she said.
The historian stressed on the need to build a connection with science to become informed and capable citizens.