Thrissur : Kerala Kalamandalam , the state’s iconic cultural institution, is celebrating its 96th anniversary amid a host of serious challenges. The three-day celebrations, which began on Saturday, will conclude on Monday with cultural affairs minister P C Vishnunath inaugurating the anniversary conference.




Kalamandalam is grappling with a severe financial crisis , largely attributed to the inadequate flow of funds from the govt. The institution has not received govt funds to pay salaries for the past two months, said B Ananthakrishnan , vice-chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed to be University. Kalamandalam sources said the institution requires around Rs 1 crore a month to pay salaries to its nearly 250 employees.




Chancellor Mallika Sarabhai said she had earlier taken up the institution’s financial crisis with chief minister V D Satheesan and cultural affairs minister PC Vishnunath. Although both had assured her that they would look into the matter, no concrete action had been taken so far. The institution would also need some seed money to step up its efforts to generate internal revenue, she said.




Reports, however, suggest that the financial situation was perhaps even worse under the previous LDF govt, which sanctioned less than Rs 50 lakh in some months against the institution’s monthly salary requirement of Rs 1 crore.




Some relief may now be on the way. “This govt is understood to have issued a GO sanctioning a grant of Rs 1 crore to Kalamandalam this month. The amount is likely to reach the institution in a couple of days,” an official said.




Adding to its woes is a leadership vacuum. Though the UDF govt has been in office for five months, it is yet to appoint members to the institution’s executive council , which has not met for nearly six months. Kalamandalam authorities have not convened a meeting of the existing council and are apparently waiting for the govt to reconstitute the body.