Streamed live on:June,10,2020.

The webinar is about the the issues confronted by KATPUTLI Artists during pandemic. It was hosted by the Empower people with the moderator named Kyati Arora and also we had The Rashtra Puraskar Winner named Puran Bhatt. There also guests like Kishore Bhatt, Babllu Bhatt,Pintu Bhatt, to share their views.

Even when we reach a new normal, the future in Kathputli seems to remain bleak. Until the public functions and wedding seasons resume, the artists will be unable to perform any events. Along with donations, the community is attempting to adapt and is in search of more platforms that would enable them to showcase their skills, perhaps in a virtual medium.Even when we reach a new normal, the future in Kathputli seems to remain bleak. Until the public functions and wedding seasons resume, the artists will be unable to perform any events. Along with donations, the community is attempting to adapt and is in search of more platforms that would enable them to showcase their skills, perhaps in a virtual medium.

This time of year would have been the lucrative wedding season, but the spread of COVID-19 has locked them out of their work, which essentially involves social gatherings or street crowds. Their already fragile incomes gone, they are facing hunger due to limited government support, and a few of them have appealed for donations through a crowdfunding portal.

With 2,800 families cramped together, each living in a one-room lodging made of lightweight aerocon panels and using community taps and toilets, the residents in the Anand Parbat camp also worry about being easy targets for the spread of COVID-19.

The lockdown may have been lifted and almost all sectors of the economy may have reopened, but for folk singers, kachhi ghodi dancers, kathputli makers and theatre artists, the fight for survival continues. As these custodians of Rajasthan’s colourful cultural heritage struggle to get two meals a day, the government has no plans to assuage their suffering.

The income of these artists varied from day to day based on the number of people who visited. However, due to the pandemic, their daily earnings fell all the way down to zero since their only mode of income was now non-existent.

Looking at the desperation and hopelessness among the residents of Kathputli, Vijay Maitri, an activist and theatre performer himself stepped in to help the community from failing. Vijay has been fighting for the rights of the Kathputli colony for the past 10 years.

In addition to the lack of amenities, the facilities that are provided also lack quality. The taps present in the community bathrooms in the transit camp are not connected to a water supply.

Even when we reach a new normal, the future in Kathputli seems to remain bleak. Until the public functions and wedding seasons resume, the artists will be unable to perform any events. Along with donations, the community is attempting to adapt and is in search of more platforms that would enable them to showcase their skills, perhaps in a virtual medium.

Compiled by; Indrani Kukkadapu