In the beginning, in March 2010 to be exact, it had all the qualifications of being branded as an elitist, insular spot, akin to an exclusive, old boys’ club. Four years down the line, as Lamakaan enters its fifth year on March 13, it has morphed from being an inclusive cultural space that promotes and presents the best of arts, literature, theatre and debate into a critical space for liberal values.
Co-founded by Ashhar Farhan, Humera Ahmed, Elahe Hiptoola and Biju Mathew and backed by a group of free thinkers from outside, Lamakaan has truly evolved.
No exaggeration if one asserts that it is the go-to location for anyone in Hyderabad and elsewhere who are looking for something to do with music, movies, discussions, exhibitions, workshops, plays and a plethora more of activities. Statistics buttress this argument rather well.
In a span of four years, the venue has seen nearly 800 events being staged under all the genres mentioned earlier. The growth trajectory too has been typical: with the first two and some years seeing just 150 and the next fifteen months, a whopping 650 odd.
As Adapala Subba Reddy, the hugely popular contact person at Lamakaan says, “Our stance of not hosting a sponsored event and strictly discouraging corporate events has paid off. We have enabled a lot of new people to showcase their creative performances. The elitist tag that we were initially identified with inadvertently has worn off as you can see regional dramas in Urdu, Telugu, Marathi and even Tamil being staged here.”
This has obviously meant a constant rush for space and bookings made much in advance. In fact, as of now, the weekend slots are booked out till the end of June!
Subba Reddy, who was in the motion picture industry till a couple of years ago, is now completely immersed in balancing the demand made on his time and that of his cultural space. He says, “In a year, we stage around 60-80 plays, which are paid events, while the other 150 odd are free for all. The paid events can charge a maximum of `100 as entry fee for which we collect a token sum of `1,000 as our charges. For those which are free, there is nothing to be paid. Everyone wants the weekend slot as that is the favourite hang-out time for the youth, but the competition is severe.” Plays are staged the maximum, followed by film shows and open-house sessions.
Adding to his headache are groups who wish to milk the support on a regular basis, which would mean the newcomers would be denied their due. Reddy has managed to counter-balance such unreasonable demands very well till now, as the booking slots are well scheduled.
Moreover, with the venue’s reputation travelling far and wide, there are groups from Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune and other cities also making a beeline to this hotspot at Banjara Hills.
Ashhar Farhan, one of the co-founders asserts, “In the days ahead, we will continue to chart our own course of being a liberal, open and critical space for free flow of thoughts and expressions.”
Shaken once a while by hardliners who want to stop uncomfortable views from being expressed, as it happened with them with the Arundhati Roy issue and the Kashmiri film festival earlier, it is not curtains as yet for them. A point to note is that on March 13, the birthday of Lamakaan, the play ‘Birjees Qadar Ka Kunba’ is being staged, an unvarnished look at the suppressive environment in a conservative Muslim household in matters sexual.
A series of events for the week have been scheduled to mark the fourth year of the cultural space. To find out more, you can check their website: laamakaan.com.
Others in the fray
The advent of Lamakaan has opened up space for other players too in the city. In the last year, Our Sacred Space at Secunderabad has become another sought-after location for its variety of cultural and classical events. As the website elucidates, its is a place for the young and young at heart to experience joie de vivre and the quest for beauty -- in surroundings, peaceful and positive a place to explore the possibility of fulfillment. From art, music, dance, to yoga, meditation and even Ikebana, Our Sacred Space is more intrinsically aligned with finding inner peace.
Saptaparni in Banjara Hills (which has actually been around for a decade) and Roots in DD Colony are a few more that have been thronged by art and culture lovers. As of now, the low cost of staging an event and the relatively wider glory it enjoys in public eye, tilt the scales in favour of Lamakaan
