Livelihoods of drum players of Kurigram at risk
People of the Hindu Kaishobo (Malee) community of Kurigram Sadar upazila, who make a living out of playing drums, are facing an existential risk due to low income. This practice has been going on from generation to generation. They would lead their lives playing drums – being uneducated, they don't have access to other kinds of work. In addition to playing drums in various occasions, they also work as janitors from in people's homes at the moment.
Unlike before, demand for drum players have fallen and they are not called to play as frequently. They earn only for seven months every year as they get one to five orders for using drums or musical instruments per month. They form a team of five to nine members and take Tk 4,000 to Tk 10,000 based on the requirements. They mainly earn from various puja festivals, such as Durga, Kali, Laskmi pujas and they also play at Hindu weddings.
They use various types of instruments such as, locally called dhak, dhol, khol, kashi, karka, big-drum, side-drum, 7-set, flute, harmonium, shanai, jhumur, juri and so on. At least 110 people of 34 families of Malee community live in Hari Para (Malee Para) of Belgachha union under Kurigram Sadar upazila. Gaynath Chandra Malee, 52, said, “We cannot earn in other ways besides playing drums. Our income has become limited. We would like to earn in other ways but we do not receive any support from any government organization or NGO.” Atul Chandra Malee, 27, said, “We need a burning spot (Shashan) as over 110 of us live on 35 decimals of land. Beside Kurigram-Rajarhat road in Hari Para (Malee Para), we have a Debattar land of around 20 decimals which has been grabbed illegally by a local influential person.”
Shantu Chandra Malee, 25, said, “Almost all of us are non-educated. We are trained to play musical instruments including drums as children. Now, 9 of 30 children of our community go to primary school. Nitai Chandra Malee was the first of our community to pass SSC examination in 2014. Our children would can become educated if we receive the right support and if the government or an NGO takes an initiative to save our livelihood.”
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