Shalini Singh

Urja

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“Mobiles, TV, video games have come in and the historical
tradition of puppetry and storytelling is being lost.” Pooran Bhat is a
puppetry artist from Danta Ramgarh in Sikar district of Rajasthan. The
30-year-old recalls a time when they made their own puppets and performed skits
at children’s parties, wedding occasions, and government functions.

“Today people want different activities. Earlier, women used
to sing on the dholak but now people
want film songs on the harmonium. If we get patronage, we’ll be able to carry
forward what our forefathers taught us,” he says. 

Bhat was at Jaipur’s Jawahar Kala Kendra – a three-decade
old multi-arts centre – in August this year (2023). Several groups of folk
artists from across Rajasthan had congregated for this state-sponsored festival
where the state government announced a new scheme for performing artists
struggling to hold on to their art and livelihood. 

Called the Mukhyamantri Lok Kalakar Protsahan Yojana, it
guarantees 100 days of annual work for every folk artist family in their
location at Rs. 500 a day. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005,
which ensured 100 days of employment to rural households, set a precedent for
it. 

The central government’s Vishwakarma Yojana was announced in
September 2023 for artisans and craftspeople, but this scheme – Kalakar Yojana
– is a first for performing arts communities such as Kalbelia, Terah Tali,
Bahrupia, and several others. Activists estimate there are about 1-2 lakh folk
artists in Rajasthan and no one has ever done a total count. The scheme also
brings gig workers (transport and delivery) and street vendors into the social
security net.

“We are only active in the wedding season for a few months,
but the rest of the year we just sit at home. In this [scheme], we hope to earn
regularly,” says Lakshmi Sapera. While the 28-year-old Kalbelia performer from
Mahlan village near Jaipur is hopeful, she adds, “unless my children want to, I
won’t force them into the family art. It’s better if they study and get jobs.”

“Folk artists – the ‘living arts and crafts of the state’ –
were the worst hit especially in 2021 [pandemic]. They needed a helping hand,
else they would have left their art and ended up as NREGA workers,” says
Gayatri A. Rathore, Director General of the Jawahar Kala Kendra. During
covid-19, all performances stopped overnight, leaving the artists at the mercy
of handouts. 

“In the pandemic, our earnings went down. With this artist
card, it should get better,” says Pooja Kamad. The 26-year-old is a Terah Tali
performer from Padarla village, Pali district, Jodhpur.

“In folk music such as Manganiyar [old communities of
musicians in western Rajasthan], only one per cent of the artists get to go
abroad and perform and earn; 99 per cent don’t get anything,” says Mukesh
Goswami. Among the Kalbelia (nomadic groups earlier known as snake charmers and
dancers), some chosen 50 people get work while the rest don&#39;t.

Goswami is an activist with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathan (MKSS). He adds, “there has never been year-long employment for folk
artists…important for livelihoods and a sense of dignity.” MKSS is a people’s
organisation working for the empowerment of workers and peasants in central
Rajasthan since 1990.

Marginalised artists should get social security, basic
livelihood from the government so they don’t have to migrate to other cities. “Mazdoori bhi kala hai [labour is also
art],” Goswami points out.

Under the new scheme they get an ID that identifies them as
artists. They are eligible to perform at government functions and the money
earned is credited to their account after the local sarpanch verifies details.

“Hum Bahurupi roop
badalte hain,” says Akram Khan, in reference to his traditional performing
art of Bahurupi where the actors move between multiple religious and
mythological roles. The art is said to have originated in Rajasthan and
travelled to Nepal and Bangladesh. “Historically, patrons would tell us to come
as different animals [for their entertainment] and in return gave food, land,
took care of us,” he says.

Khan estimates that there are just 10,000
performers like him left today in this art form in which both Hindu and Muslim
communities participate.

“It [the scheme] should be made into a law, so that even if
the government changes, the work guarantee is ensured,” says Shweta Rao, an
MKSS activist. She says that instead of the 100 days of work guarantee per
family, it should be 100 days per artist. “The actual artist who needs it –
performing somewhere within the jajmani
[patronage] system inside a remote village – needs to be connected and
benefitted.”

Between May and August 2023, some 13,000-14,000 artists
applied for this new scheme. Till August, 3,000 got approved and after the
festival, the number of applicants went up to 20,000-25,000.

Each artist family is also being given Rs 5,000 as a
one-time amount to buy their instrument. 
“We have to now chalk out a calendar of events because art and culture
doesn’t have a presence in the artists’ own districts, and get them to
disseminate government messages using their art forms and their local
language,” says Rathore.

There is also a demand for an institute for
performing folk arts where senior artists share their knowledge within and
outside the community. This will help preserve and archive the work of artists
and ensure that knowledge is not lost.

Levelling the field for artistic labour

لوک فنکاروں کو معاشی عدم تحفظ سے بچانے کی کوشش

జానపద కళాకారుల ఆర్థిక భద్రత దిశగా ఒక ముందడుగు

கலை உழைப்புக் களத்தை நிரவி சீராக்கும் திட்டம்

ਲੋਕ ਕਲਾਕਾਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਵਜੂਦ ਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਮਾਲੀ ਮਦਦ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਝਦਿਆਂ

କଳାକାରଙ୍କୁ ସୁଯୋଗ ଦେବା ପାଇଁ ଏକ ପ୍ରୟାସ

കലാപരമായ അദ്ധ്വാനത്തിന് തുല്യാവസരമൊരുങ്ങുമ്പോൾ

ಜಾನಪದ ಕಲಾವಿದರಿಗೊಂದು ದುಡಿಮೆಯ ಖಾತರಿ

લોક કલાકારોની સખત મહેનતનું યોગ્ય વળતર આપવાની કોશિશ

लोक कलाकार मन ला आर्थिक संकट ले बचाय के उदिम

लोक कलाकार के आर्थिक संकट से बचावे के जुगत

শিল্পশ্রমের বাজারে সাম্য আনার নতুন প্রয়াস

লোকশিল্পীৰ আৰ্থিক সুৰক্ষাৰ দিশে এখোজ

लोक कलाकारों को आर्थिक असुरक्षा से बचाने की कोशिश

Jaipur

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Levelling the field for artistic labour

Performing artists like Manganiyars, Bahurupi and Terah Tali must wait for shows and events to earn through the year. A new scheme in Rajasthan guarantees 100 days of employment with the aim to rescue them from economic insecurity

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