They turned street singers to make ends meet

BENGALURU: Forgotten in the tumult for hospital beds and medical oxygen is the fact that the pandemic-induced lockdown is wreaking havoc on people’s livelihoods. Take the case of Shantha Shankar, 35, from Yadgir and Shivanna, 30, from Hassan.
Having lost their jobs, the two visually challenged individuals are in a desperate search for a livelihood. With all avenues lost, the two now sit at marketplaces in Bengaluru and sing old Kannada film numbers, while seeking contributions from passersby.

The two met at a hostel for the visually challenged in Jnanabharathi Layout in Bengaluru and decided to fall back on skills they had developed during their schooldays — as vocalists — to make ends meet.
The duo arrives in an autorickshaw at crowded markets in the mornings. For three hours, they perform karaoke sessions, supplying vocals to recorded tracks which is amplified over a public address system. By 10am, they pack up and leave.
“I lost my job after the lockdown was announced this year and have travelled 500km to earn a livelihood,” Shantha said. “I have to take care of my parents who stay in a village near Ramadurga in Belagavi district.”
Shantha taught the primary classes in a school for the visually impaired. “I got by with my savings during the nationwide lockdown last year. I continued teaching after the lockdown was lifted, but the second wave has made life hard,” she said.
Shantha moved to Bengaluru and stayed at Swavalamban Angavikalara Seva Charitable Trust, Jnanabharathi Layout. The trust is run by Gopi N, himself a visually challenged. There she met Shivanna, who has been singing by the roadside for a year now.
Shivanna from Holenarsipur taluk, Hassan, worked as a data entry operator before Covid-19 intervened. “All my life, I earned a decent living and supported my parents. But these lockdowns hit us hard. When even two square meals became a problem, I sought the help of Gopi’s trust and began singing at junctions,” Shivanna said.
The duo now performs at markets in Kengeri, Jnanabharathi and Nagarabhavi. “We earn anywhere around Rs 6,000-7,000 a month and share it. We pay Rs 1,000 each to Gopi’s trust that provides us free food and shelter,” Shantha said. Both Shantha and Shivanna said that they had no inkling about the recent onetime financial assistance announced by the state government to various categories of individuals. Incidentally, Karnataka’s Rs 1,250-crore has nothing for the disabled.
Gopi said his hostel is home to about 15 visually impaired people. “The lockdown has affected all of us very brutally. Many of my inmates worked as teachers and in garment and agarbhatti units. But now they are all jobless,” he said.