Art lovers to extend financial help to artistes across Haryana

Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, June 28

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Art lovers and well-to-do artistes across the state have decided to form a welfare association in order to extend financial support to needy artistes, who are finding it difficult to make the ends meet.

A decision to this effect was taken at a state-level meeting of the artistes’ fraternity organised here on Sunday. Kailash Verma, a former station director at Akashvani, Rohtak, presided over the meeting.

The artistes lamented that cultural programmes, which were their primary source of income, are not being organised amid the Covid restrictions and the state government is also not paying any heed to their demands.

“A number of poor folk artistes and other stage performers are on the verge of starvation as no cultural programmes/stage shows are being organised due to the lockdown and the fear of the spread of the pandemic,” said Vishv Deepak Trikha, a local artiste.

Many artistes are forced to do odd jobs such as whitewashing, manual labour, selling vegetables and grocery, hairdressing and operating autorickshaws etc to make the ends meet.

“Memorandums were submitted to the top state authorities for the provision of financial help to the needy artistes, but to no avail. Hence, well-to-do artistes and art lovers have decided to contribute their mite to help their not-so-privileged brethren,” said Trikha.

He rued that officials of the Haryana Kala Parishad have also failed to do anything worthwhile for the welfare and well-being of the artistes, whose survival is at stake in the prevailing situation.

Budh Ram, a folk artiste from Ambala, demanded that those above 60 years of age should get old age pension and some interim relief.

Dr Jaswant Singh, a Kurukshetra-based musician, appealed to the state’s artistes to join hands and come together on a common platform to get their concerns addressed.