A WhatsApp-based charity group has come to the aid of Theyyam artistes who have been stripped of their income with the pandemic wiping out their annual peak performance season.
The group, Theyyakaazhchakal Charity, was formed in March 2019 with the explicit goal of helping Theyyam artistes in physical and financial distress. Though there were only a few members at first, the number has now hit the 100 mark.
Initially, the group used to give ₹7,500 to a needy artiste every month, mobilised through contributions from its members, before the assistance was increased to ₹10,000 from this January.
For 25 artistes
“As the pandemic spread, one member contributed ₹25,000 and combined with the ₹17,000 we mobilised through monthly contributions, we transferred assistance varying between ₹1,000 and ₹2,000 to the bank accounts of 25 Theyyam artistes,” said K.K. Reghunathan, an avid Theyyam aficionado and an admin of the group, who became paraplegic following an accident in December 1992. He is now associated with a Web portal that maps sacred groves across the State and brings out an annual calendar of Theyyam performances.
To assist more
The group plans to reach out to the maximum number of Theyyam artistes next month as well. The peak season for Theyyam, an art form performed mainly around sacred groves, stretches from January to May.
“The income earned by the artistes during this period lasts them for the rest of the year. The season has been largely washed out by the pandemic. They are facing immense hardships since most of them do not have an alternative livelihood,” said Reghunathan.
The group has also been handing out aid in lump sum to needy artistes and their families. An assistance of ₹80,000 was given to the family of a young artiste from Kasaragod who died prematurely while about to stage a performance last year.
