Classical dance was always for the society, of the society and by the society. Why do I say this? This is because, to make contents of the shastrams available to everyone in the society, dance became the medium. So, this was for the society. Dancers performed to themes that everyone could relate to. Hence, dance was about and the people that it was made up of. These dancers were also part of the same society they did it for. Hence, dance is – by the society. While it has become a commercial venture, some still believe that art should be for the society, of the society and by the society. Samarpana, an NGO dedicated to art and well-being has been conducting festivals through this lockdown to raise funds for artistes who have been affected by the COVID crisis.
On Instagram, they have series where young, as well as senior artistes perform on a daily basis. These shows are for half-an-hour. While young dancers are featured under the ‘Art Heals’ series, senior dancers are featured under the’ Drops From A Mighty Ocean’ series. One of the senior-most dancers has been Chennai based Bharatanatyam guru Rhada. Samarpana has also tied up with the ministry of culture to raise funds. For this project, they invite senior performers who go live on Samarpana’s Facebook page. This project is called 100 for 1000. It is called 100 for 1000 because if each rasika could donate Rs 100, 1000s of artistes across the country could benefit.
While all the performances are by classical dancers and musicians, the donation is for their folk counterparts who are the most affected due to the lockdown. These lockdown months are usually the months when folk artistes make all their money. Now, do you see why I call it ‘for the people’? In this case, classical artistes are coming to the rescue of their folk cousins. The target of this organization is to raise Rs 25 Lakhs which will be distributed to those folk artistes who are struggling to make ends meet. All performances are voluntary and are for the cause. None of the artistes has sought remuneration.
Samarpana has provided some details on how you could donate-
1. Crowdera – https://gocrowdera.com/IN/self/COVIDOutreach/Samarpana-24371
2. UPI ID – samarpana@upi
3. Bank Details – Acc No: 50200044327941 IFSC : HDFC0000141
4. Google Pay number – 9884458008
