Ekpatri Kalakar Din: month-long virtual celebrations of stand-up comedy, solo performances

Written by Seona James

Ekpatri Kalakar Parishad, a leading group of artists specialising in solo performance and stand-up comedy, has started a month-long celebration of the craft under the banner of ‘Ekpatri Kalaprasar Din’. The events to be held online between June 1 to July 7 will be dedicated to the theatre personality late Madukar Tillu.

“We have been observing June 1 as ‘Ekpatri Kalaprasar Din’ for many years. On this day, many of our artists would perform in different theatres. However, since the past year, due to the pandemic and lockdown, our performers cannot continue this. Hence, we have moved this to the online platform now,” Deepak Rege, President of Ekpatri Kalakar Parishad said.

The Ekpatri Kalakar Parishad had initially decided to wrap up the programme on July 2 this year, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Madhukar Tillu,. However, considering the number of performers who agreed to perform, the programme has been extended till July 7.

“Our artists will be performing daily at 5 pm on Facebook Live. The audience will be able to view this daily on our Ekpatri Kalakar Parishad Facebook page,” Rege explained. Inaugurated on Tuesday, June 1, about 50 artists will be performing for this celebration, either individually or in a group, on each day.

– Seona is an intern with The Indian Express, Pune