Bobbili Veena Artisans Disillusioned, Say Politicians Are Not Helping Them
VISHAKHAPATNAM: The artisans of Bobbili Veena, burdened with overwhelming debt, are dissatisfied with the political landscape. “We are disillusioned,” they say.
They believe that their circumstances will not improve regardless of the electoral cycles. The artisans have refrained from seeking political intervention.
The Bobbili Veena community has a rich legacy dating back to the 17th Century. Nearly 40 artisan families are drawn from the Viswa Brahmin community in the Gollapalli and Vadada villages of Bobbili.
A Craft Development Centre at Gollapally village, set up by the government, is where Bobbili veena artisans make veenas and earn their livelihood. However, due to financial difficulties, the 40 families are struggling, and the youth are not showing an interest in training themselves for making Bobbili veenas.
Only three artists make Bobbili veena, a musical instrument, while very few make decorative veenas. Deccan Chronicle visited the spot and met the community members to learn about their challenges.
To make Bobbili veenas, artisans require jackfruit wood as their primary raw material. However, they cannot obtain it directly from the agency areas and are forced to rely on brokers to purchase it at the rate the brokers give. As a result, artisans need working capital to purchase the jackfruit wood. They take loans from banks and private traders to obtain the necessary funds, thereby getting themselves stuck in debt for their entire life.
In 2012, some 35 artists borrowed `30,000 from AP Grameena Vikas Bank and used it as a working capital. Later, the bank converted these loans into the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY). However, the state government has not taken any significant step to address this debt issue.
As a result, the artisans cannot communicate their plight to the central government for loan waivers and are taking loans from private moneylenders, further exacerbating their financial burden.
Ramakrishna Sarvasiddhi, who is in charge of the Craft Development Centre, stated that despite the AP government’s promises to allocate 5.5 acres of land to Bobbili Veena artisans for growing jackfruit trees, no government really did this.
Artisans have lost hope in political leaders who they once hoped would support them. They have stopped meeting them as they feel these leaders are no longer helpful in solving their problems. These artists are not showing any interest in the upcoming election either.
According to artist Sankaraacharyulu, their efforts to get a loan waiver during the Chandrababu rule were unsuccessful, and they incurred more debt in travelling and staying in the capital for this purpose.
