BENGALURU: The pandemic has engulfed us all, infecting us not just with disease but also with anxiety and mental distress. Artistes, who get us through such times, are unable to keep the show going due to financial and physical distress. Take for instance Parthasarathi, a stage lighting designer and production manager, whose last show this year was in March, before the lockdown. “As it is people are struggling. It’s even more difficult for freelancers like me. It’s getting tougher day-by-day, with all our savings and investments being used up,” says the 38-year-old who has worked in theatre for 13 years.
Dancer Madhu Nataraj says, “Art has been considered frivolous, yet artistes have always provided respite selflessly, by sharing their art.” While she may be the face of her performances, art is always ‘composite’ – there is always an army of people involved in all her productions, including music composers, costume designers, sound technicians, lighting designers, and many more. “These people are artistes too, and this is their bread and butter. They can’t just give it up.
But right now, the situation is so bad financially, that everyone is trying to reinvent their path. For instance, some of my team members are trying their hand at video editing, costume designing for television etc,” she says. Theatre artistes too are taking up odd jobs to make ends meet. Nandeesh Dev, secretary of Ashvagosha Theatre Trust, himself has moved to the booking selling business and he is trying to create employment for others. “Many theatre artistes are currently working as food delivery executives for very little pay.
I procure Kannada novels from different publishing houses and try and sell them within my contacts. Some theatre artistes are currently working as delivery executives for me,” says Dev, adding that he follows all government rules by making sure that deliveries are done during the morning hours when movement restrictions have been relaxed.
Theatreperson Arundhati Nag says the community needs funds to keep going. “We need someone to trust us and fund the dreams that we must weave today to deliver tomorrow. Funding today, making commitments with makers of art and plays, moderate budgets of `5-7 lakh will enable artistes to start thinking, put teams together, and start preparing to get the product ready for a festival next year.” Music rang out of venues in Bengaluru as artistes performed live up until the national lockdown ended all that last year.
Musicians simply haven’t been able to get back to even a semblance of pre-pandemic life, either financially or mentally. Singer Raghu Dixit says an artiste is the happiest on stage and it’s been a year since physical shows were allowed. “The shows are not just financial support. They’re also a huge emotional anchor for these artistes. And now with no shows, it has affected them mentally. They have not felt the same kind of happiness for quite sometime,” says Dixit, who adds that he feels he can cope better if he is doing something to help people in need.