Ganeshotsav 2021: Dhol tasha troupes, musicians in Mumbai face another bleak year

Traditional Maharashtrian troupes and banjo players who won’t be able to play for the second year running say they miss performing in processions but have their hands tied by the virus

Ahead of Ganeshotsav, the city’s dhol tasha pathaks and banjo players are going to be left in the lurch as processions are not allowed this year either. The groups claim that they haven’t practised in a long time due to the COVID-19 restrictions and that it will be difficult to take up things from where they left off two years ago.

Mandals in the city have been allowed to drop Ganesh idols at beaches but without any processions. Troupes of bands that used to perform at these processions and thought that the restrictions would last only a year are clueless about when they will be allowed to play again. 

Traditional Maharashtrian music troupes stock their instruments at various storehouses or godowns. The instruments are used during the festive season, like Ganeshotsav or Gudi Padwa. The groups vary in size and at their smallest, can have 30-40 members, while some even have 200 members. The performances require immense stamina and as such, wearing masks while performing is not possible. Considering these, relaxations for them are highly improbable.

Also read: Ganeshotsav 2021: Immersions back, but no processions, says BMC

Miss instruments

Vinayak Hasurkar, head of Sankalp Dhol Tasha Pathak, said, “We are missing our instruments and our practice but we can’t do anything as there are no permissions. Except for declining the calls of prospective clients, we are not doing much even this season. It is difficult to part from the passion especially when Bappa is arriving, but the pandemic is such that we are worried to play in the open too. Performing with the masks on is very difficult. Thus, we will wait for the government’s relaxations.”

Prasad Parkar, a core committee troupe member of Morya Dhol Tasha Pathak, said, “There is no indication of processions starting any time soon in the city and thus, whenever things start, we may have to start from zero again. When the trend was on, new people were attracted and many new students kept coming in and wanted to learn things out of passion. But now, all this seems like a distant dream. We are still getting enquiries but we are turning them down due to COVID. We do not want to be transmitters.”

Pandemic has been worst

A banjo player not willing to be named, said, “We are completely out of practice. For music players like us, it is a great way to showcase our talent. Ganeshotsav is the only time when we are valued. Throughout the year, there is hardly any business and our instruments lie unused. Yet we continue to pay rent. During the pandemic, it has been worse. We are hoping that if not in processions, we are at least allowed to play in one place for a few hours. This way, we would be able to earn some money.”

200
No. of members that some troupes have

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