delhi's cultural elite

went last evening to an opera(nothing less) in siri fort auditorium.this was an indo-french production"if i were king".
the approach to the siri fort road was choatic or so I thought till i saw the queue waiting to enter the auditorium;i thought ah it is the security drill which is so essential till i got closer.the securirty checks were perfunctory.the choas was only beacause of the sheer inefficiency.managed to get through this ordeal unscathed and made my way into the auditorium when i noticed that my ticket did not have a seat number.so there was a free for all-this must be the only large auditorium without any seating numbers.so there you had the spectacle of people "reserving"seats for their friends.the ticket was RS.250/ and one expected a seat where you could see without straining eye and neck.well the seating arrangemnts for the janata class walas was apart from being at an acute angle far away;so you had to strain your neck to read the opera (well you see ther were large passages in french and this was being translated and displayed on a wall passing of as a screen.)
the seats were pathetic-dirty,torn and in urgent need of replacement.the people were in their finery most eager to be seen seeing the opera.they cared little for the opera itself or the other members of the audience.so the ubiquitous cellphone was in abundant display;people strolled up and down,in and out(had the misfortune of getting a seat near the exit) and eating,slurping food and coffeee.pathetric,pathetic.
the opera itself was magnificient despite(and this is a big despite) allthis.a simple tale told with humour and mirth-splendid sets ,multimedia treat,with a wonderful live orchestra.the singing was great by the lead actors none of whom took themselves seriously.
when will we learn to respect artists,other people-learn to be sensitive.