Safety first, we don’t want big-ticket garba events, say Gujarati musicians

Be it the excitement of performing in front of a large crowd, or soaking in the festive energy at the garba ground, musicians and artistes in Gujarat look forward to Navratri for many reasons. But with uncertainty looming large on whether the festival will take place or not, it definitely remains a matter of concern for many artistes as the festival remains a major source of income for many. But several artistes believe that considering the current situation, holding big Navratri events should be avoided. While few others feel that small scale events should be allowed so that smaller artistes can earn their living.

Now that so many other industries have been allowed to resume operations, the government should allow Navratri events to happen as well. They should provide proper guidelines and SOPs so that safety measures can be put in place. And it is up to the revellers whether they want to go or not, so people should not oppose Navratri events. This way we can make sure that smaller artistes who depend on this festival for their yearly income don’t suffer.

There is no doubt that if Navratri doesn’t happen, musicians are likely to feel the brunt, but as a responsible citizen, it is also my duty to contribute towards the fight against the virus. For this year, we can celebrate Navratri at home instead of having live events. As for struggling artistes, the industry can come together to help them out monetarily or we can ask the state government to help them, but Navratri events should be avoided as they can become a potential threat.

For us, pre-Navratri bookings start from as early as June and even after Navratri, we travel to different countries for post-Navratri events. Financially, this has been a very difficult time for musicians and while we are trying to help the needy artistes as much as we can, I feel that the government needs to support the needy musicians in these stressful times. We haven’t been able to perform at a single event due to the pandemic, and nobody knows till when this situation will last.

While doing virtual events is fine, that feeling of rehearsing with fellow musicians, performing with 20 musicians on the stage and having thousands of revelers dancing around you, while you perform live, can’t be matched by anything. However, we have to accept this reality because events are being cancelled to ensure our safety. This pandemic has severely affected all the artistes and compared to last year, we are earning only 10 to 20 percent of what we used to earn during this peak season.

This pandemic has impacted us severely, as all our pre-Navratri, Navratri and post-Navratri events got cancelled. While I will do a few virtual Navratri events, where the performances will be pre-recorded, it doesn’t pay anywhere close to what we usually earn. But this is not the time to think about money. If artistes charge high fees even now, how will the organizers, who are planning these virtual events, manage things? We have to think of the bigger picture and although we will miss the divine energy that one feels at Navratri venues, these virtual events are our way of trying to spread some cheer in these stressful times.

Although Navratri makes for a formidable part of my yearly gig calendar, I keep working on other projects too round the year. So, for me Navratri is not the mainstay, but it does affect a lot of smaller musicians who solely depend on this festival. And it will be a huge loss for them. But I feel, we should refrain from organising live events so that we can celebrate the festival with much more enthusiasm next year.