aised in abject poverty in a small cluster near Shadipur Depot, 38-year-old Babu Lal Bhatt has completed a long and arduous journey. Now he is rated as one of the top artistes and exponents of Kalbelia, the famous folk dance of Rajasthan. He thrilled the audiences by his three successive performances at Bharat Mahotasavas abroad. During one of his performances in the USSR (erstwhile Russia), in the early nineties, the organisers were so impressed by his performance that the local university conferred an honorary doctorate of music on him, regardless of the fact that he is totally illiterate.Babu, as he is popularly known all over, has also performed at a number of official celebrations including the cultural evenings on Independence Days.
Having started performing at the age of 16 with the Song and Drama Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, his expedition has been a roller-coaster. In an exclusive interview with the NCR Tribune, he talks about his life and impressive repertoires.
How did you come in to this field?
My entry into this field has been a planned one. Singing and playing musical instruments were our family trait. We originally belonged to a small town, Nagor in Rajasthan. My father, Ranu Bhatt, was a very popular folk singer of his time. My elder brother Hari Bhatt used to accompany him. Apart from this, my father used to organise puppet shows.
Despite doing such activities, money seldom came their way. There is no regular source of income in our family. Due to this reason, we all were forced to live in grim poverty. Later, my father decided to take some other work. And we all moved to Delhi. It was the time of the Emergency and I was barely 7-8 years old. Our family started doing some handicraft works. My mother was expert in this field. So other members of our family simply used to follow her. We were living in Ajmeri Gate area.
After the Turkman Gate incident, we had no other option but to leave that place and shift to a small cluster near Shadipur depot. This area is now famous for puppetry and is often called the Puppet Colony. My mother wanted to send me to school but due to our poor family condition, I couldn’t study. I used to help my father in leisure time. Also, I used to practise the art of playing the instruments like dholak, tabla and harmonium. At that time, I started to learn different folk dances and songs. I acquired a lot of things from my father and elder brother. At the age of 14, I got married.
Thereafter, I formed my own troupe with my brother and wife. Fortunately, our troupe was inducted into the Song and Drama Division. After that, we all focussed on Kalbelia folk dance and succeeded in mastering over this unique item. And since then, there was looking back.
Why did you choose Kalbelia dance for your troupe?
There are so many folk dances in Rajasthan. Kalbelia is a catchy form of dance but is difficult to perform. And there is no denying the fact that it has big demand across the country and abroad. All the members of our troupe are basically from Rajasthan. So, they have natural flair in this typical dance. This folk dance is very old and it has derived from some traditional dance forms of the tribal religions in Rajasthan.
Your troupe has travelled to many parts of the country and abroad. Could you tell us any memorable event relating to any one place?
Our troupe has travelled to many places like Assam, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Utter Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Japan, Taiwan, England, United States of America, France, Germany, Canada etc. And almost from everywhere we have got the rousing applause from the audiences.
But something peculiar happened at Osaka in Japan on March 2000. It was one-month tour with the Japanese Embassy. The audience was so fascinated by the Kalbelia dance that some among them came to me and expressed their desire to learn this form of dance. They were even keen to join our troupe. Surprisingly, all of them were successful professionals in their respective fields. And that was a great reward for our troupe and the form of art we are performing for decades.
At the time of pop and remix, do you think the audiences are curious to watch this form of dance?
Pop and remix are superficial and transitory in nature. It cannot sustain forever like classical and folk music. But, our performance is deep rooted. From the times immemorial, there has always been an audience for this form of entertainment. Even at the time of instant entertainment, its existence is not threatened.
You have been associated with Song and Drama Division for many years. Why did you leave that department?
There is no denying the fact that this department gave me the recognition. In fact, from the Division I got a lot of opportunities to nurture my talent and to become a big artiste. Despite this, there were some limitations there. My personal opinion is that there should not been any kind of limitations for an artiste, be it government or any other institutions. For my better grooming, I ultimately left that department.
You have seen the formation of Puppet Colony. Right now, so many internationally recognised artistes are residing there. Could you tell us something about their plight?
Their plight is almost the same. They are artistes of international repute. But on financial front, they have nothing. They are forced to live a life of pecuniary. We could have migrated to other countries as we are popular there and we have many offers. But, it is our deep love with the soil of our Mother land and that stops us in taking such steps.
Government of India and concerned state governments should provide proper financial assistance to these people from time to time so that they can live with some respect.
If the government can set up Bharati Artiste Colony in East Delhi area for artistes then why should we be singled out? Government should ponder over this issue. We are artistes, not beggars.
You have been very close to world famous artiste Gulabo, who hails from your native place. Could you tell us what is the main trait in her, which has put her at the top?
Gulabo belongs to snake charmer’s community and she is famous for Sapera and Chari folk dances. She never went to any school to learn dance from anybody except her mother. Her mother had enough potential but her talent could not cross local boundaries. From the age four, she started practising with her mother. At that tender age, she participated at a group in the USA.
Since then she never looked back. She is so popular in France. The Cultural Department of France has made a short film on her life. She is also the recipient of President Award and Sangeet Natak Academy Award. We are all proud that she has put our folk music on the international map.
Would you like your children to follow your field?
We all are pursuing our family traditions and we will not have any objection if they want to join us. However, they are studying right now. Our family has been deprived of even basic education so we want to see our children educated.
You have travelled many countries. As an artiste, what have you seen as far as facilities are concerned?
Artistes are like cultural ambassadors. In other countries, like Russia, France, Canada etc, they are being treated as very important persons. This sense of respect is totally absent in our country. We also want to be loved and respected.
