Ravindra Kala Kshethra

About

A government-run auditorium on J. C. Road, Bengaluru, built to mark the birth centenary of Rabindranath Tagore. A committee under Chief Minister B. D. Jatti began fundraising in 1959; the foundation stone was laid on 16 September 1960, and the building, designed by Charles Wilson with chief engineer B. R. Manikyam, was inaugurated on 9 March 1963 by Union Education Minister Humayun Kabir. The main hall seats 900, including 400 in the balcony, and has computerised lighting and an imported French audio system. An open-air theatre on the premises, Samsa Bayalu Rangamandira, is named for the Kannada playwright Samsa. The complex is managed by the Karnataka government.