‘Musicians are being pushed into poverty’

Musicians are left in the lurch again with the Covid-19 second wave bringing restrictions on public gatherings, functions and events.
‘Musicians are being pushed into poverty’

KOCHI: Musicians are left in the lurch again with the Covid-19 second wave bringing restrictions on public gatherings, functions and events. They lost venues, audience, and even the opportunity to earn some money performing at weddings. 

Some of them found relief in online events and singing platforms while others are being pushed to extreme poverty, says members of the collective of musicians named ‘Samam’. Earlier, there was permission to conduct events with maximum 200 participants. “However, when the temple committees seek approval from police stations, the officials warn them that if the number of people exceeds, the president and secretary of the committee will be arrested,” one of the office-bearers of Samam said. 

Samam is a collective of playback singers including KJ Yesudas, K S Chithra, P Jayachandran, and M G Sreekumar. They had petitioned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that though the government relaxed restrictions on events, apathy from the police is causing loss of platforms.

“This situation exists almost everywhere. We are not blaming the restrictions, however, there should be some genuine concern regarding the situation of the artists’ community,” said Rakhesh Brahmanandan, media secretary of Samam.

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The New Indian Express
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