A space of their own

Sitting in his office in New Delhi's bust-ling South Extension, culture impresario Rajeev Sethi has a frown on his forehead. There are fine lines too, and in each of them lie numerous stories.

Stories in which men, women, children, grandparents... families are decaying, partly due to the empty promises made by governments and neglect by the bureaucracy.

These are the families of Bhule Bisre Kalakar (Forgotten Lost Performers), talented artistes who have travelled all over the world, displayed their skills, entertained audiences in different continents, but are desperately trying to secure decent homes for themselves for the past 30 years.

It is a colony where magicians, puppeteers, singers and acrobats have huddled closely and dreamt of an existence that will make them self-sufficient. "The system," says Sethi softly, "fails them every time."

I prod Sethi into talking about himself. After all he is recognised as a leading South Asian designer, noted internationally for his contribution to preserving and celebrating South Asia's rich cultural heritage, and bombarded with adjectives like " cultural czar" or "high priest of design".

"Arre, ultimately czars got their heads cut off, na?" he suggests grimly. I try to cheer him, tell him I'm impressed with the fame line that is strongly defined in the palm of his right hand.

"What's the point if they [the artistes] don't benefit? I don't want this fame," he retorts. "And I'm not being cute when I say this." He's impatiently running his fingers through his curly mane, one can sense his desperation. After all, 30 years for justice is a long wait. Nothing has gone as planned for Bhule Bisre Kalakar.

It began on a promising note when Sethi formed Sarthi in the '70s and persuaded the families of artistes to move in together and register themselves as a cooperative. Nearly 130 artistes registered then; today the number has grown to nearly 300.

What's more, Sethi managed to eliminate these people from getting classified as beggars. "That's what they were defined as in the Beggary Act," he growls. "We worked out architectural plans and artistes were enthusiastic about designing their own homes."

"Every time I go back to Shadipur, I can see in their eyes, that I've failed them..." Do they tell him how they feel? "Yes, of course they do."

Why does he feel he has failed? After all, India is now bustling with chic "village" destinations, what with Chokhi Dhaani in Jaipur, Dilli Haat in New Delhi, Vishala in Ahmedabad, to name just a few. Sethi answers right away: "I didn't have the capacity to play with Delhi's incestuous world of cultural politics."

He speaks unabashedly about politicians, bureaucrats, socialites, disputed lands and architects' lobbies, but insists he doesn't have time to look at what is lost. "We were much ahead of our time then. Today I feel we can implement every thing by keeping a structured business model in mind," he says.

What exactly does Sethi want to create for the Bhule Bisre Kalakar? "We want to give them a creative space where they can live and continue mesmerising audiences with their craft. They shouldn't seek audiences, instead audiences must come to them." Sethi is hoping that corporates and private players will come to the rescue and start what critics have often referred to as a "sort of Disneyland".

Retorts Sethi: "What these guys don't understand is that these artistes need cultural entrepreneurship, and housing should be a valid deal while implementing just that."

He adds, "We need to cut out the whole middlemen lobby." Swagata Sen Pillai, director, The Asian Heritage Foundation, which promotes craftspeople, performers and artisans, says, "There are almost 75 per cent middlemen in Dilli Haat; barely 20 per cent of the people who participate are craftsmen there... it's common knowledge."

Sethi cites the example of Nivara Hakk, actor and activist Shabana Azmi's NGO that has been instrumental in relocating as many as 13,000 families in its first phase in 80 acres of land in Mumbai. "It is a tripartite agreement between the Maharashtra government, Nivara Hakk and a private builder, Sumer Corporation, and has seen considerable success," says Sethi.

He would like a similar arrangement to work in New Delhi's Shadipur area where these artisans live, but at the same time he feels the need to attract audiences to these artistes. "There has to be a link between tourism, artistes and their creative skills and, of course, bringing the audiences to their homes."

On their part, widows belonging to Bhule Bisre Kalakar have already registered a website (www.shadipur.com) for their services in the wedding season.

A sizeable number of Bhule Bisre Kalakar will be going to Melbourne in early 2007, setting up a village there and displaying their skills. A Roysten Abel play has just brought back a group of enthusiastic Bhule Bisre Kalakars from Spain. All over the world these artistes are already making waves.

Now, if only their own country could give them a tiny fraction of what they deserve...