Economic Dilemma of Street Artists and Its Impact on Their Sustainable Livelihood: A Case Study of Kathputli Colony

Background

Theatre has been an integral part of India for over 2500 years (Mitra, 2014). According to Farrel (1993), the earliest forms of theatre was seen as part of the Sanskrit theatre, which developed between 2^nd century BCE and 1^st century before it and continued to be at its peak from 1^st century to 10^th century, as this period saw the emergence of hundreds of plays. However, evidences suggest that under the Mughal conquests between 10^th and 11^th centuries, Indian theatre faced a major obstacle as it was forbidden completely (Bailey, 1997). However, eventually several attempts were made to reinstate the indigenous ideas and values, which boosted village theatre across India, thus giving rise to several regional languages between 15^th century and 19^th century. Post this, modern Indian theatre advanced during the British colonial rule. Quayum (2014) shows that Rabindranath Tagore was a pioneer in modern playwrighting, who explored material greed, spiritualism, identity and nationalism. The earliest forms of theatre were performed as street arts through puppeteers, dancers, musicians, painters, acrobats, illusionists etc. However, these art forms are being threatened in the current era by the glamourous and popular cinema industry. It has lost its charm and glory and is struggling to lure audience and sustain themselves.