THE dimly-lit room has little to show of the glitzy remains of the previous night. At 11.30 a.m., its 100-odd occupants, tamasha artistes, are just rousing themselves from sleep as they gather their sheets and pillows from the benches that till 12 hours ago seated raucous patrons who responded to every step on stage with whistles and applause. Post midnight, they simply double up as beds for the exhausted performers.

Today is a Thursday and at the Arya Bhushan Kala Kendra located in the heart of Pune, the tamasha artists are waking up to this weekly health camp. A corner room at the far end of the wada, the Pune equivalent of a Mumbai chawl, is seeing a flurry of activity as a partition screen, some boxes and bottles are carried inside. After living for years with health problems like hypertension, arthritis, cramps, anemia, sexually transmitted diseases and even heart ailments, they now understand the need to take stock of their health. And of late, the warning bells are getting ominous as they are up against another scourge: HIV/AIDS.

The tamasha has declined as an art form patronised by the royalty during the reign of the Peshwas in the 17th century to its present state where it has to battle several stigmas. Dwindling audiences, lack of state support and the poor health of the artistes have all spelt misfortune for the performers.

In many cases, it has also made the line that separates them as performers from sex workers a diaphanous one. From having one malak who ‘owned’ the dancer and whose children she conceived in return for maintenance, tamasha artists today are known to have varied relationships and multiple partners, putting them in a ‘very high risk’ HIV category.

... contd.