hyderabad of all the hurdles that lamakaan a firstofitskind cultural hub in the city has overcome in its 10 years of existence few were as hard as working around the steep rise in onion prices last yearsurprised thats because lamakaan runs almost entirely on the back of its kitchen says anant maringanti among the 14 curators of the cultural centre on road no 1 banjara hills which is all set to celebrate its 10th anniversary its a business model anyone who wishes to start such a space can emulate he suggestsat the centres tiny open kitchen that feeds hundreds a day the pace is brisk and theres little time for chit chat the head chef recalls that in the initial days after the centre opened a decade ago only a few came to watch the sparse shows and not more than a bowl of samosas was sold but it wasnt long before word of the quality of lamakaans shows including dance programmes music events debates and talks as also its piping hot chai spread and the centre turned into a bustling creative space over the years lamakaan which in arabic means a house without boundaries has hosted 852 plays 317 art shows 812 workshops 507 art performances 1050 talks 30 night school events and 466 movie screenings most of which were freethe property originally belonged to m hassan a foundermember of the society to save rocks after whose death his nephew ashhar farhan assumed the reins of the space and turned it into a liberal hub for progressive cultural practices along with other cofounders in honour of his uncle lamakaan has so far been driven by the people farhan explains adding that his team is exploring ways to improve it further with many similar spaces mushrooming across the city lamakaan must reinvent itselfthe change too will be driven by the people says farhan