Barred from South Zone Cultural Centre event, say Thanjavur folk artists

TIRUCHY: Folk artists from Thanjavur staged a protest against the South Zone Cultural Centre on Monday for reportedly preventing them from performing during the cultural festivals that affect their livelihood.

According to the artists, the centre which has been functioning in Thanjavur fails to entertain the local artists. They demanded the South Zone Cultural Centre should provide equal opportunity to the folk artists on par with other performing arts. They alleged that the officials from the centre failed to spend the funds allocated for the folk artists properly.

Alleging that the officials from the centre demand bribes for allowing them to perform in the cultural festivals, the protesting folk artists said that the centre has people in charge who are not associated with art forms nor have knowledge of performing arts and this leads to a poor schedule of programmes.

They demanded equal opportunity to the registered folk artists on a rotation basis. They also demanded a remuneration of Rs 2,000 for performing within Tamil Nadu and Rs 5,000 for other states and provided the remuneration without delay.