Vibrant neighbourhood of artists under threat in New Dehli

It is home to one of the largest groups of artists anywhere in the world and it's under threat. In the Indian capital, Delhi, developers want to rebuild the Kathputli Colony - a slum that's home to acrobats, magicians, puppeteers and fire-breathers. But as ............... reports, the threat of development is creating fear among residents that they may not be able to return.

On a patch of dirt in West Delhi, about 20 students are hard at work, learning to climb ropes and perform acrobatic tricks.It's an activity that's unlikely to make its way onto an Australian school curriculum anytime soon. And most Indian kids aren't swinging from great heights without a safety net either.

 

But this school, in the middle of a large slum, isn't like anywhere else. These are the kids of the Kathputli Colony - and they're learning the arts of their ancestors.

 

The Kathputli Colony is immortalised in Salman Rushdie's book Midnight's Children as the "magicians' ghetto".

Sterre Sharma - a painter, originally from the Netherlands - established a school for the children of the slum 25 years ago because the ancient traditions were being lost. 

 The school is right in the middle of the slum. The colony is colourful and creative, but this is no fairy tale existence, there is no safety net here either. The area wheezes with disease… tuberculosis is rife, and so is malaria. The pungent odours of faeces, urine and cooking fat fill the alleyways.There are few toilets, no clean water and many open drains.The locals worry about disease, but their biggest fear is being forced out of the only home many of them have known.

 

The government has sold the land and developers have drafted plans.

 

Artists, like Rajenda Kumar who makes puppets and performs with them, have been promised flats, but fear they will be forced out permanently.  There is a lot of confusion about what the development will mean.

 

After initially refusing to move, some parents have reportedly begun marrying off their daughters in the hope they'll be rewarded.Some of the girls are only ten years old as Sterre Sharma the founder of the performing arts school explains.It is wedding season in the slum…..a time of singing and dancing .. a time to forget the daily grind of life. But in some cases, these unions are being borne of fear rather than hope … little girls are being given away before they've even reached puberty. For those young girls from the performing arts school, dreaming of a Bollywood future, the agent of poverty is likely to sign them up first.