Four years ago there were only a handful of performance spaces. Today, tucked away in quiet neighbourhoods are quaint spaces that have, within a short span of time, become mainstream. Lahe Lahe in Indiranagar is one such space that within only a year and four months since its inception has become well-known.
It is 10 30 am and Lahe Lahe is abuzz with activity. Dance and poetry workshops are underway, and snatches of conversation reveal the passion of the artists. Mansee Thard, who humbly says she manages the space, greets us. The best part of a terrace space is that it lends itself to be transformed into creating an ambience for theatre, music and even dance. “It came alive when we had Dandiya here, and can even have a classroom set-up during a workshop,” agrees Mansee.
Lahe Lahe is an initiative by Edifice Labs by Nikhil Thard, Mansee’s husband, who Mansee credits for being the brain behind the space.“Nikhil has been into real estate for the last 15 years,” says Mansee, “My background is in corporate communications. The arts is something I connect to,” says Mansee though she says that managing an art space has its share of challenges: “A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes,” she stresses, describing Lahe Lahe as a non-judgemental expression space.
“It is not just for established artistes. It is for any artiste wants to perform or hold a workshop.” Mansee recalls how there have even been times when they have discovered talent.
“One mother used to bring her child for a theatre workshop. I learnt that she teaches calligraphy. I suggested she hold a workshop. We had six kids for her calligraphy workshop. Now she is a regular, she does it once every month. Not only does she conduct workshops here, but also in other places. That made me very happy. It is not that we want expressions to be only related to Lahe Lahe.”
Some events have even contributed to a cause. “The group that does the musical jam, did a small gig. They first wanted to perform for free, but we wanted to sponsor the education of the guard’s and maid’s son. The kid also jams with them, so the group grew fond of him. And they ultimately raised money for his education.” Some more money had to be raised, says Mansee, and so she discussed with Harish Bhuvan on conducting a facilitator’s workshop, which also included Rajesh P.I., Malini Gowrishankar, Rekha Kurup, and Vikram Sridhar, to raise the rest. Lahe Lahe has been host to both small and big events.
“We had a poetry weekend that was an intimate event. We tried to cover every aspect of poetry. There were a few workshops on how to write poetry, one workshop on how to publish poetry, one on how to use YouTube to promote your poetry, and another on how to perform poetry. In the evening we had a panel discussion. We also have weekly events like salsa. Then there’s a musical jazz that happens every Wednesday,” says Mansee, adding that the space has even hosted artists from other cities.
Even the name Lahe Lahe has an artistic bent to it. “It is an Assamese phrase for slowly, slowly. We decided on naming it Lahe Lahe to mean that you need to slow down to create more,” says Mansee.
Lahe Lahe is located at No.2906 & 2907, 80 Feet Road, Kodihalli, HAL Stage II, Indiranagar, near BSNL compound HAL 3rd Stage, Kodihalli.
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