Rajasthan artists file 80 RTI pleas on irregularities in Jawahar Kala Kendra

Hindustan Times: Jaipur: Tuesday, May 16, 2017.

Artists and students gather in Jaipur on Monday to submit RTI on working

 of Jawahar Kala Kendra's director general and changes in its constitution.

Artists filed around 80 applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on Monday over alleged irregularities at the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK).

“The JKK was created to promote art forms of Rajasthan and provide folk traditions of the state a platform. Unfortunately in the past several years, the JKK is neglecting local talent from Rajasthan,” said artist RB Gautam, a recipient of the Kalavid award.

Reams of paper and postal stamps lay scattered over the tables of the India Coffee House as renowned artists of Rajasthan wrote RTI applications.

The artists said the applications were filed because the JKK administration was not interested in answering questions about its functioning.

“This is the first time that 80 RTI applications are being filed by artists in one particular body on the same day. The reason behind this is lack of communication between the administration and grass-root artists of the state,” said theatre artist Madhav Singh.

The RTI queries include the number of Rajasthani folk artists who were invited by the JKK in the past two years and the expenses on cultural events organised by the centre.

The artists have also asked why the Friday theatre shows were cancelled and what are the administration’s plans about art works and facilities that are part of the centre.

“We also want to know that under which circumstances the constitution of the JKK was altered and have asked for the details,” said Himanshu Jhankal from the theatre artists’ association.

The artists were seen debating over the questions as they filed the applications.

Many of them confessed that this was the first time that they were filing RTIs, and hoped that the answers would throw light on issues on which they haven’t got any reply from the JKK administration.

“JKK is a place all of us are attached to because this is the cultural epicentre of Jaipur. It pains us to see the current sorry state of affairs here and thus felt that the onus is on us to raise the issue and seek a probe into the irregularities,” said folk artist Dilip Bhatt.