Purulia: The novel coronavirus-induced lockdown in India has battered the life of thousands of people associated with the 300-year-old Indian semi-classical dance form—Chhau, in Bengal’s Purulia.
Chhau is a masked dance form that originated in eastern India and can be broadly categorised into three forms, named after the district/village where they are performed—the Purulia Chau of Bengal, the Seraikella Chau of Bihar and the Mayurbhanj Chau of Orissa.
Purulia Chau is the most vigorous, acrobatic and folk in nature. The theme of the dance is based on a few episodes of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. However, new themes have evolved over the years. This particular form is known for its use of decorated, beautiful masks.
Usually, the peak for this dance form is between March and June, with an average booking of 25 days in a month. With the imposition of the nationwide lockdown, the lives of Chhau dancers came to a grinding halt this year.
Forty-six-year-old Nabarun Kalindi, a first-generation dancer from Khairi village of Majhidih gram panchayat, told The Wire that his group lost bookings worth more than Rs 1.8 lakh during the lockdown period. “Our group was newly established and we require steady income to sustain our lives. Without income this season, we are clueless about how we are going to survive this year,” Nabarun said.
Nabarun leads the Khairi Mahajan Shishu Chhou Dol, comprising 22 members–the youngest of whom is 6 years old and the oldest 57. The economic hardship brought about by the COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown is evident on the faces of each member of the group. Most of them are eating boiled rice and potatoes.
Dilip Kalindi, 31, another member of the dance group told The Wire that for the past 80 days, his family has been completely dependent on the ration supplied by the government and their kid’s school. “We work hard to earn our living. We haven’t earned a single rupee since the lockdown, just living on the government’s ration,” Kalindi said.
From April, the West Bengal government has been supplying rice and potatoes to students of its schools, who are eligible for mid-day meals, instead of cooked meals in the wake of the pandemic.
Masks used by Chhau dancers. Photo: Himadri Ghosh
Nabarun explained that Chhau dancers primarily depend on shows for their livelihood and often don’t have alternative sources of income. “We were able to start performing shows only after a group from Kolkata gave us money to buy masks and costumes. All 22 members of the group depend on these shows to feed their families,” said Nabarun.
Sukriti Gangola of ABS Group, a Kolkata-based social welfare organisation for marginalised children, told The Wire, “We are associated with this Chhau dance group since 2017 and have been assisting them financially since then. The group is extremely passionate about the dance form and takes so much pride in it. Whatever money the members earn, it is through the Chhau dance,” Gangola said.
She added that the ABS Group reached out to the villagers of Khairi, when they got to know that with no income, the kids there are not getting sufficient food. “They live an impoverished life, lockdown just made it worse. We took the responsibility of 155 kids and distributed protein-rich rations to them. We are going to repeat this every month hereafter,” Gangola added.
Interacting with the villagers and many others who had gathered there, we spotted 66-year-old Kinkar Kalindi squatting in a corner. When asked how the lockdown has impacted him, the old man said, “Sometimes we get to eat, sometimes not,” His voice choked, but his wrinkled face bore a smile.
For most villagers, there aren’t any other means to earn money. When they do not receive any bookings for dance shows, they work in a nearby brick kiln or in beedi-making factories – occupations that demand a lot of labour and pay very little. Now with the lockdown, even those options are unavailable.
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Forty-three-year-old Dhunapali Kalindi has to feed five souls. Her husband has no income since the lockdown. Since March 25, she got only 17 days of beedi making work, which she was doing from home. “We get Rs 110 for rolling 1,000 beedis. I can’t roll more than 650-700 a day. We have no money to feed our kids,” said Dhunapali.
These stories are from Purulia, the west-central district of West Bengal, about 300 kilometres from Kolkata. Purulia is one of the poorest and most backward districts of the state, with more than 50% of the population living below the poverty line. Its geographic location, the drought-prone land, the predominant presence of tribal groups, illiteracy, and politicians’ sustained neglect of the region has resulted in poor economic development.
The Wire met 62-year-old Binadhar Kumar, an acclaimed third-generation Chhau dancer who leads one of the most popular Chhau groups in Purulia. Kumar said his group had been booked for almost every day during the peak season and had plans to travel from one village to the next.
Binadhar Kumar, an acclaimed third-generation Chhau dancer, who leads one of the most popular Chhau groups in Purulia. Photo: Himadri Ghosh
“We had bookings for more than 70 days, beginning on March 15. Our earnings would have been around Rs 26 lakh. But with coronavirus and the lockdown, everything stopped overnight,” Kumar said. He has to refund all the advances he took from his clients. Kumar’s group, Radhanath Chhaunritya Bikash Kendra, has over 35 members and with no work, most of them are facing an economic distress.
Kumar explained that at the beginning of every season, the groups take loans from co-operative banks to place orders for costumes, masks, and drums—a major chunk of their expenses. He further said that because they have not held any shows this year, they will be caught in a debt trap. “The lockdown has completely wiped out our earnings this year. The state government’s monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 to artists from backward classes is giving the poor a small relief,” Kumar said.
The economic distress caused by the lockdown is not limited to just the Chhau dancers and artists, but has also significantly altered the small businesses associated with it—masks makers, costume makers, decorators and those who supply sound systems.
We chanced upon one of the most prominent mask makers from Purulia—Sadhu Sutradhar. The 63-year-old Sutradhar had learnt the art form from his father and hails from Bagmundi, a predominantly tribal pocket of the district. In April and May, Sutradhar incurred a loss of around Rs 7 lakh, which adversely impacted the livelihood of the 27 workers that he employs.
Unsold masks hanging in the godown of Sadhu Sutradhar in Bagmundi. Photo: Himadri Ghosh
“The workers here are very poor. They use this season’s income to sustain for the whole year. The lockdown has crippled them,” Sutradhar said. He told us that he had used all his savings to help his workers. “I have no money now. I had to look after my workers as they were in need,” Sutradhar explained.
