Written by Atharva Mehendale, Community Project Manager, URI - North India & Afghanistan Zone
This excerpt from the book ‘The Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts and Culture’ makes a compelling case that cultural projects are not simply a luxury but play a fundamental role in reviving the fortunes and boosting the prospects of poor, minority and other disadvantaged communities:
‘Civic institutions, like museums, public galleries, community art organizations, performing art institutions, arts councils and public arts organizations have a rare opportunity to lead significant change by engaging specific groups to help devise and carry out creative community-building neighbourhood programs.’
Arts, craft, and culture have a crucial role to play in processes of community mobilisation and development. Art makes available a common thread that helps tie communities together, helps uplift underprivileged communities and boosts opportunities. Putting this into practice is Kathak Dharohar, an organisation that has been working to spread performing arts to communities that seldom have access to them. It was established in the year 2012 by Sadanand Biswas, who is a trained Kathak dancer himself. He has been practicing the art for over 30 years now. Foundation stone of the organisation was laid during Mr. Sadanand’s tours across India where he noticed a wide disparity in the level of access that various sections of the society have to not only performing arts, but also to opportunities for overall growth. He stumbled upon a number of kids from less privileged backgrounds with the talent, grit and determination; but a dearth of opportunities. With Kathak Dharohar, he aims to tackle this very problem face-on. The Kathak Dharohar family has grown over the years to include art and culture practitioners and volunteers from across India.
The organisation has its centres in Uttarakhand, Delhi, Goa, Pune, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam. It collaborates with divyang centers (for those fighting disabilities), orphanages, and other places like leprosy centers in order to work with people from varied backgrounds and age groups – to make available a platform for them to showcase their art. Children and other interested individuals are trained in Kathak, with a unique opportunity for them to showcase their efforts in a national-level event which is held in Delhi every year. In addition to this, the organization is also instrumental in organizing skill development workshops that train individuals in painting, stitching, art and craft; and also provides vocational training opportunities – free of cost!
As a Cooperation Circle of the North India & Afghanistan Zone of URI, Kathak Dharohar has its objectives aligned with the larger vision and mission of URI. URI members have always lent their support and inspiration for the work that Kathak Dharohar is involved in doing. Mr. Biswas believes in the universality of music as a language and how it transcends the boundaries of race, caste, religion and gender. Art, in general is something that glues people and communities together. In this light, the organization’s work pays no heed to cultural, ethnic, and caste-based differences. Rather, it tries to weave everyone together. Trying to tackle financial issues and other bureaucratic problems, Kathak Dharohar, for the past 8 years, has been striving to make sure that ‘everyone’ is awarded the respect and opportunities that one truly deserves!
