"The world is a stage and we are mere actors and actress in it," prophecies Shakespeare, all time poet and playwright. The statement is very true, but have we ever thought about the people who have dedicated their life to acting? Come let's take a break from our hurried life and take a peek into a very different world: a world which marks a strange coexistence of the real, the sordid and the make belief.

The Bangalore Best team met a group of young and old artists working for a small theatre company in Koppal Taluk in Karnataka, who were in the city, recently, to stage some plays. The theatre group established 15 years back and since then they have been traveling and performing shows all over the state. The troupe consists of 50 members including the artists and the musicians. "Except Coorg and its near by regions we have been to all the places in Karnataka," says one of the artists.

The youngest artiste in the group is just 2 years old. There are four ladies who perform different female roles in a play. These artists constantly juggle their professional and personal life, now they are old ladies trotting in the stage and the next moment they are feeding their babies or busy with their household chores. The barrier between their real and make belief life is very thin and often merges into non existence. What do they say about their profession?

"Ten years have passed since we started our journey in this field. Our life is very difficult - we have no houses, no privacy and our children do not live with us", says a 45-year-old woman busily dressing up for her part in the drama staged at the Gubi Veeranna Rangamandira.

Shardha, another artiste of the troupe has a similar story to tell, "Life is not at all easy here. Though the government has recognized this drama troupe we have no facilities at all. It is only after the age of 58 that they would give me pension and you know how our government functions, we never get our money on time." "When my mother -in- law expired I could not go to attend the last rites because if I go then the whole group would be affected because of me", says Mahadeviah, another senior artiste in the group.

Most of them leave their children in some government hostels where the fee is minimal because none of them can afford to give their children the best of education. Some of the smaller kids are taken care of by their grandparents or relatives. None of the artists have visited their home from past two years. They have no holidays, no facilities, no luxury. Food is simple, living conditions are nondescript. Chandramma, apart from playing the role of a mother or a grandmother, is in charge of the troupe's kitchen. She makes around 300 jowar rotis, rice and some curry for the whole team, everyday.

"We carry tents, utensils and our belongings and move from place to place and pray that we have a good collection," says the manager of the troupe.

"Most of our plays are family based stories. The director teaches us the entire drama and we perform it everyday till the next script and the drama is ready," says Mahadevaiah.

"The reason we are here in Bangalore is because we thought that we would get a good collection before we proceed to our next destination. Our monthly income is Rs 1, 50,000 which is a very huge amount still we don't make profit," says the manager of the drama troupe.

The troupe will be in Bangalore till the end of December. There are about 300 people who watch the show everyday. Their most popular drama is 'Kalakedareda Hennu'. There are 2 shows and on Sundays there are 3 shows. "Idu Hing Yake Ayitu Yake Hing Ayithu?" is the another serious drama where the strength of a woman is portrayed.

Deepa
Pics: Ravindra Nayak.C.H

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