COIMBATORE: As the district continues to top the state in the number of fresh Covid-19 cases and the government imposing stern restrictions on public events, nadaswaram and thavil players are struggling.
On Thursday, nadaswaram player K Nanjappan, along with his troop, performed in front of a temple at Chinnavedampatti in the city to attract the attention of authorities towards their plight.
“I have been playing nadaswaram for 45 years and never faced a similar situation.
Without a source of revenue, we are dependent on the state government’s Covid assistance fund and ration products,” the 60-year-old man told TOI.
The players are booked for functions including marriages, temple festivals and ear-piercing ceremonies.
They receive the most bookings during the wedding season and based on the revenue earned during those months, manage their expenses for the rest of the year.
A troop consists of five players, each of whom earns about Rs 2,000 per function, according to Nanjappan.
“But in the last one-and-a-half years, we hardly receiving any bookings.
People were scared of the Covid-19 pandemic and were conducting marriages in a simple manner at nearby temples with minimum attendees.
So, we were not invited to play.
As the months when the lockdown norms were relaxed were not wedding season, we hardly played at four functions.” V Chandra, a 60-year-old nadaswaram player, said that people would book her troop six months in advance.
“Now, due to the lockdown, programmes are cancelled at the last minute.
We are not even getting 25% of the orders.
I could not find work in May.
If the lockdown is extended further, it is going to be very difficult for us,” she added.
Nanjappan requested the government to arrange loans for the players to survive the tough times.