Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
Waiting for a dramatic turn
PASSAGE OF a decade has left a deep scar on their profession — staging plays.
From a position of deciding the dates for performances, they have now been reduced to a state of grabbing whatever opportunity comes their way.
The 400-odd drama artistes in Tiruchi are a mute and helpless witness to the grim reality of their profession dying in their lifetime. Despite their devotion to work, they do not want the next generation to suffer the same.
It is another matter that they derive utmost job satisfaction despite their penury. For, nothing matches the joy of applause. The audience may be sparse but the feeling of being appreciated is good.
But what overshadows this clan is the feeling of gloom, the big question mark of survival.
State performances come rare and so these drama artistes have to contend themselves by enacting street plays. Courtesy: Government departments, which rely on them to a fair extent to propagate messages such as AIDS awareness and sanitation in villages. The District Rural Development Agency and the Health department help them scrape through a modicum of livelihood.
They prepare the script themselves reinforcing it with the information they collate from newspapers for the purpose of creating social awareness.
The general secretary of the Tiruchi District Drama Actors' Association, `Kalaimamani' M.S. Mohammed Mastan has the latest world statistics of AIDS affliction on his fingertips, which he shares with the target masses. "There are presently 3.78 crores full blown AIDS patients in the world, including 48 lakhs this year. The rate of affliction is high in India, next only to African countries. But the country is yet to wake up to the reality. We do our part in sensitising the masses to the explosive situation."
Unfortunately for the drama artistes, there is a social stigma attached to their profession. Youths are not inclined and most drama artistes in the district are over 40 years. Interestingly, in the hour of crisis, women earn more than men. While the daily income for men artistes is Rs. 125, it is Rs. 175 for women. Still only the middle-aged women don the mantle of heroines. They do the facial make up themselves to save on overheads.
What agonises them is that their enthusiasm is not appreciated by village heads, whose certification is required for these artistes to get the money. There have been numerous occasions when the artistes are discouraged too, through non-cooperation on the part of the village heads, who ask them to take the certificate and vacate the spot, least bothered about the social impact these troupes could create.
A troupe, comprising five to ten artistes, is paid anywhere between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2,500 per performance, barely enough for a hand to mouth existence, considering that they get such opportunities only a few times a month.
It is against this backdrop that they see a silver lining in whatever patronage is accorded to them by the Thanjavur-based South Zone Cultural Centre, the Tiruchi-based Kalai Panpaatu Maiyam, and R. R. Sabha. Once a month, a troupe is given an opportunity to stage its performance in the R.R. Sabha. The artistes fervently hope this patronage to be a permanent gesture.
They also feel that the Government should extend concessions, such as free bus passes, to `Kalaimamani' award winners.
What can social honour and recognition mean to us without social security, wonders Mr. Mohammed Mastan.
R. KRISHNAMOORTHY
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
