A panel comprising some of India’s best known names from the performing arts on Tuesday addressed a virtual meeting where they discussed the devastating effect the pandemic has had on the lives of artistes and the government’s purported indifference to the art and cultural sector.

Performances have come to a standstill, artistes are starving and no one is concerned, least of all the government, they pointed out.

The meet was attended by violin player L. Subramaniam, playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy, theatre actor Lillete Dubey, Kathak artiste Aditi Mangaldas, composer Shekhar Ravjiani, William Richmond from the multi-genre vocal ensemble Shillong Chamber Choir, Ficci secretary-general Dilip Chenoy and the COO (live entertainment) at BookMyShow, Albert Almeida.

Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director, Teamwork Arts, who is also the moving force behind the Jaipur Literature Festival, spoke about “I Believe #ArtMatters”, a fundraising concert that will be held to help artistes and artisans affected by the pandemic.

To be held on October 4 and broadcast online, it will feature about 70 performances by over 450 artistes, including most of the names on Tuesday’s panel and also composer A.R. Rahman. The concert will be broadcast on Teamwork Arts’ Facebook and YouTube pages and BookMyShow.

The panel spoke sharply about the predicament of the artiste community in India.

Does the community even exist, asked Mangaldas. The government does not even recognise the community, she said, adding: “It is only artistes who help each other.” The Covid crisis has created an unprecedented situation. Income has evaporated, but the disease is still rampant.

“If the classical arts are not supported, what chance is there for theatre?” asked Dubey. “It’s at the bottom of the rung.”

The artistes go on only because of their own passion, in the face of great indifference, especially from the authorities. She said she was on a government committee once and at the end of its term, crores of rupees were just disbursed in the most callous manner.

Subramaniam, too, brought attention to the fact that the matter of money is just wished away in the context of the arts. “There is no concept of royalty,” he stressed again and again, adding that artistes should get paid according to their contribution. “Artistes should pay their accompanists,” he said.

There is no system in place, he pointed out, in the art and performance world that ensures fair payment.

Ravjiani, one half of the composer duo Vishal-Shekhar, agreed strongly on the absence of government initiatives to help artistes and mentioned efforts to which he contributed that would contribute to artistes.

Chenoy pointed at Ficci’s effort to help art. He said that one positive outcome of the Covid crisis could be the enormous output of Indians on social media. This could be used to nudge India towards turning into a “creative economy” from an economy of consumption, Chenoy suggested.

Almeida felt that after the pandemic, a platform like BookMyShow could help to give birth to a kind of “hybrid model” for an event, combining auditorium and digital experience.

Krishnamurthy spoke in an emotional tone. “The artistes’ community doesn’t ask if it isn’t desperate,” she said.

But no one thinks that artistes need money either, the veteran singer added.

Dubey, with others, pointed at an irony during the pandemic. “We have all turned to art” — literature, cinema, music. She hailed private initiatives to help artistes. “But what is the government doing?” she asked again.

The panel also appealed for donation for artistes.