Quote/Unquote

Two months ago, we were very excited when we received a request for an interview from a well known daily. The interview happened and we  talked at length about Daricha Foundation's birth and its journey. This morning, it appeared in the papers : http://epaper.telegraphindia.com/details/79369-183455203.html

Thrilled as we were about Daricha Foundation's first mention in the papers, we noticed  a couple of misinterpretations  in the article. So for the record, we thought we would use our blog to set matters right:

" ...These days we also come across a lot of fake artistes.  Many claim they are puppeteers, nachni performers or beniputul makers in the hope of getting some monetary aid from authorities"

While we did speak of people posing as traditional artists, these particular communities were never mentioned - the simple reason being puppeteers (Beni putul artists are also puppeteers) and nachni dancers need years of training before they can ply their art.

I guess there must have been a mixup with other strands of our conversation because we also spoke  of  folk forms that are sometimes misrepresented in the cities.  For instance,  Jhumur  is often accompanied by "Santal dance" - but Santals do not sing Jhumur. And  this has nothing to do with Nachnis, who do dance to Jhumur. As for  Beni Putul artists, I spoke of how there were only a few families left  - so this "quote" about fake puppeteers and Nachnis was unfortunate and misplaced.

"Bose's initial efforts for government funding proved futile. "I wrote to the Ministry of Culture and got a reply that they'd get back to me soon. But I still haven't heard from them after two years. "  

The facts are :   I wrote to the MoC in 2011 - not for funding - but to share with them my concept.  I was looking for feedback on the genesis of an idea and I thought at that time, the MoC would be the best people to ratify it. I also told her about some of our previous unsuccessful attempts for funding from MoC. But the printed statement above  that I had been kept waiting for a response on a funding request for 2 years is incorrect. And particularly embarrassing when I have just received funding from them - in a very swift response to our proposal. In fact we had also told  the interviewer that we had recently applied for this.

Regardless, our efforts continue. We remain committed to our goals, and to our commitment to creating awareness about our folk artists and the rich traditions they represent.