Yakshagana artists rely on private shows for funding, as they are not receiving incentives or pension schemes from the government anymore.
The pension scheme provided by the Karnataka government for writers and artists has been discontinued for Yakshagana artists. The Masaana scheme of Karnataka government provided pension to writers and artists who are over 58 years, but there were hardly any Yakshagana artist beneficiaries before discontinuation. The scheme aimed at transferring Rs.2,000 per month, through direct bank transfer (DBT) to over 12,000 writers and artists.
The Yakshagana academy has had no president for the past five months after the term of the previous president, B. L. Hegde’s term ended. Balwant Rao Patil, Director of Janapada Academy is currently handling the finances of the Yakshagana Academy. Patil said, “There is no pension scheme for Yakshagana artists specifically right now, the previous Masaana scheme is not applicable now. They can directly apply for central or state government schemes dedicated to artists.”
Prakash who works as secretary at Janapada Academy said, “Bangalore Yakshagana artists are generally well off and take care of their finances by themselves.”
However, this doesn’t seem to be the case for all artists. Sreenivas, who runs Karnataka Kala Darshini, a famous Yakshagana group, said, “There are many Yakshagana artists who are not financially well off and have to stop practicing Yakshgana totally. There are few practitioners in my group who are involved in the art full time, rest have to work elsewhere to earn their livelihoods and keep Yakshagana as a hobby.” He also has been sent by the government to perform in foreign countries like USA, China, Philippines, etc.
Yakshagana is a traditional folk-dance form popular in Coastal Karnataka districts. Yakshagana performances occur at multiple places in the districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada,Uttara Kannada and Bangalore.
Another Yakshagana artist Arvind said, “We have to rely solely on private shows and performances in order to get bread and butter. My group usually travels through different states during festive seasons, still during certain months we have no work. The work is inconsistent throughout the year.”
He added that during the months in which there are no shows, many artists of his group do random jobs to earn their living and only a few of the artists are involved full time in the art.
Mohan, another Yakshagana artist said that there is no support for new groups by the government. He said, “There is no support by the authority to promote new artists. They usually hire us only to give workshops or academic work. Usually, they pick out experienced practitioners for such jobs, the young are often neglected. In order to get shows we have often asked for some sort of promotion but there is hardly any.”
Sreenivas added that none of the universities offer courses on Yakshagana. He said, “there is Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Master of Arts (M.A) and Doctor of Philosophy ( PhD) in Bharatanatyam and other arts but nothing for Yakshagana. The artists don’t get any valid certification, which they can show to get a job anywhere. They have to resort to side jobs and there is very inadequate funding in the art form. The government usually only provides funding for tours abroad, but otherwise they don’t bother much.”
Mr Patil added that the government does not provide incentives to individual artists and instead provide lumpsum amounts to groups which at least have 15 members. The amount usually ranges between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 4 lakhs. But the amount is not sanctioned very often, after the verification. Artists can still apply for central government schemes
. These schemes provide pensions, lump-sum amounts for groups and medical aid for artists.
Srinivas points out that the average salary of artists is very low and not enough to provide for a living. He said, “The average salary of Yakshagana artists is around Rs. 3000-4000. Usually it is only the prominent groups that are well paid.”
He added that the artists are surviving on private shows alone. The shows are generally organized by corporate entities or organized within cultural festivals like Mysore Dussehra.
Last year,the Karnataka BJP government announced pension schemes for Yakshagana performers,but there has been no update yet.
Members of the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy agreed that the previous government had decided to provide a new pension scheme, but nothing along those lines has happened yet. There are no updates from the government’s end.
