Two-day Tamasha festival starts

Pune, Oct 09 (UNI) In order to uplift the popular tamasha artists of Pune district, a two-day Tamasha festival got underway at the Balgandharva Rangmandir here today.

The festival has been jointly organised by Pathfinder International, Pavala Pathebapurao Sahitya Sangeet Lokkala Academy and University of Pune.

Talking to UNI, Madhukar Nerale of Sangeet Lokkala Academy said that five hundred tamasha artists from Pune district are attending the festival, which will highlight their day to day problems and 'neglect' of the state government towards them.

The government, headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh, had announced a package for Tamasha artists in December 2006, but nothing has come of it so far, Nerale said.

This genre of Folk dance has been popular over 100 years but has fallen on lean times because neither the state government nor the society tried to help them to continue with their art said Mishel Andina, Project Director of Mukta International pathfinder.

Mukta International has been providing medical facilities to Tamasha artists and is working in 11 districts of Maharashtra with an aim to reach out to approximately 20,000 Female sex workers and homosexuals, Ms Andina said.

UNI