A Different Charm ; a Community of Snake-Charmers Tries to Make an Alternative Livelihood Out of Their Beens, Sans the Snakes

Summary

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On a chilly evening last week at Delhi's India Habitat Centre, it was charm of a different sort. About 70 snake-charmers of the Jogi- Nath community converged from Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to "charm" the decision-makers present in the audience into lending an ear to their livelihood woes. They played the Scottish anthem with 40-odd beens and a dozen tumbas and khanjaris accompanied by three huge dhols. Other than the Scottish anthem, rest were tunes from their traditional repertoire. The orchestra left the 500-odd audience, including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and a sizeable number of foreigners, wide-eyed. While the audience savoured every moment, the celebration time for performers arrived at the end of the show when Dikshit announced, "We would repeat this unique show in the central park of Connaught Place very soon and we'll start Delhi state's Bhakti Utsav with it, in April."

That was not enough. Some more good news followed then. Organiser of the programme and a patron of the saperas, Bahar Dutt of Jeevika: Friends of Snakes, was approached by HMV-Saregama with a recording offer while Delhi-based director of the show Roysten Abel was inquired to take the show to Italy.

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A Different Charm ; a Community of Snake-Charmers Tries to Make an Alternative Livelihood Out of Their Beens, Sans the Snakes

Before the show, the Sapera basti in Moladband village on the outski...

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