Livelihood of jatra artistes at standstill

It's a tough time to be an artiste in the country right now, as the economic consequences of coronavirus continue to rattle creative professionals. For female jatra artistes in Mymensingh, the situation has become crippling, especially during winter -- the peak time of the year for this craft.

The jatra artistes, who generally live in clusters at the city's Krishtapur, said they are not getting enough contracts in the fallout of the pandemic. On the other hand, the few gigs that do come by are offering much lower payment than before.

"We receive a lot of contracts around this time, after sitting through long dry periods throughout the year. But this year, the scenario is quite unfortunate," Shanti Akter, an artiste from the area, told this correspondent.

"I've done only three deals in the whole year," said Shanti, a mother of two schoolgoers. "I have been in this profession for more than 16 years. Nothing like this has ever happened before," said the 32-year-old.

This is a drastic fall from just last year's numbers. "I got more than 100 contracts and earned Tk 3.5 lakh. But as luck would have it, I have had to borrow money this year," she added.

Like Shanti, 26-year-old Jui Akter Bithi, another mother of two schoolgoing children, said she is currently passing the most critical point of her eight-year career.

The situation is so bad, many jatra artistes were forced to sell their belongings to cope, said Parvin, another artiste from the area.

Talking to The Daily Star, Nizam Uddin Bhuiyan, president of Mymensingh Jatra-Natok Shilpi Bahumukhi Kalyan Samabaya Samity, said 150 female artistes depend on jatra gigs to make a living in the city.

To survive the pandemic, many have even started working at garment factories, informed Nizam.

Some 100 instrument players, make-up artistes, and costume makers in the periphery of the jatra scene are also in deep financial crisis, said Nizam.

Similar comments came from Ali Akbar Pathan, a costume maker.

In Mymensingh, folk-theatre programmes like jatra are staged in rural areas, said Shahadat Hossain, secretary of Bahurupi Natya Sangstha. These are arranged by art and culture enthusiasts, who keep entrances free.

But this year, their financial situation, as well as health safety issues, have lead them to drastically reduce the number of these shows.

Mohammad Rafiq, a cornet player, said in order to survive, the artistes seek long-term soft loans from the government.