With theatres and concert halls shut, and temple festivals cancelled because of the COVID-19, performing artistes are finding themselves in a precarious financial position, with bills to pay, no work, and no income. The whole calendar of events in the most fruitful time of the year (January to May) has been wiped clean. In a jiffy, performing artistes, including musicians, dancers, and actors, have seen their livelihoods evaporate.
An independent, localised initiative, Musicare, has been set up in the State to offer assistance to people that find themselves in such a situation. Coordinated by musicians Sreevalsan J. Menon, Edappally Ajithkumar, Balakrishna Kamath, and Vazhappilly Krishnakumar, along with dancers Methil Devika and Rajasree Warrier, the initiative is an attempt to provide relief for those artistes who find their lives on a financial knife-edge. “The effect of the virus has been devastating. It has hit the general public really hard. As artistes, we found that the damage to our community has also been nothing short of traumatic. What started off as a casual conversation between some of us where we painfully discussed the loss of income and opportunities of artistes close to us, grew into this initiative very soon,” says Sreevalsan.
The Kerala government had already announced a relief fund but the words of noted auteur Shaji N. Karun triggered Sreevalsan and company to do something. “When I spoke to Shaji Sir, he said that the government was doing something. But he added that we as artistes should also show some ‘response and responsibility’. That’s when we decided to do what we could”. Musicare was formed as a one-time relief fund basically for Carnatic musicians who work in music and dance in Kerala.
“We have the generous support of Sarvamangala Trust (Abu Dhabi), Advaita Dasa Foundation (Detroit) and a few benefactors. We shared this message with people, cultural organisations and WhatsApp groups. We insisted that each applicant be backed by someone whom either one of us knew. This was to confirm that we were helping the needy. In the first phase, we have listed out 104 ‘beneficiaries’ out of which we have already sent an amount of ₹2,000 to the bank account of 40 artistes.” For Rajasree Warrier, this has been an eye-opener of sorts. “I feel that this is a small step. We must come together and form a permanent fund that would provide assistance to so many who have no work, no pay and no savings.” She adds that she has handed over the names of a very senior dancer who used to work in ballets and that of an Ottanthullal artiste to Sreevalsan. “They will get this money once we have paid those in the first list. There are many artistes who don’t want to ask for help. There are many who are aged, bed-ridden and depend on their children, nephews, who are artistes themselves, for their livelihood. All this has been lost.”
With honed tenacity and perseverance, many artistes continue to struggle. Musicare is a humble effort by performing artistes to help those in their community who cannot afford healthcare or have funds to carry them through this personal or natural disaster.
Artistes seeking assistance may contact: Sreevalsan J. Menon: 9447045120, Edappally Ajith Kumar: 9447377796, Balakrishna Kamath: 9847291081, Methil Devika: 9846372762, Rajasree Warrier 9447075800, Vazhappilly Krishnakumar: 9745991378.