Kathputli Colony is a colony of

street performer Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

s in

Shadipur Depot Shadipur Depot is a residential and industrial area in West Delhi, named after nearby Shadipur settlement. This is also a depot for the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). It is also known for the 'Baljit Nagar', were in Kathputli Colony, puppet ...

area of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. For the last 50 years, it is home to some 2,800 families of magicians, snake charmers, acrobats, singers, dancers, actors, traditional healers and musicians and especially puppeteers or kathputli-performers from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. This makes it world’s largest community of street performers. The colony is undergoing an

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

redevelopment plan by

Delhi Development Authority The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is a statutory body established under the Delhi Development Act, 1957, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India to "promote and secure the development of Del ...

(DDA) of

Government of Delhi The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD; ISO: ) is the governing body of India's National Capital Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also ...

Etymology

The name Kathputli Colony comes from

Hindi language Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ''li ...

word for puppet, Kathputli.

History

The colony started in the 1950s, as a cluster of makeshift tents in an open field on the outskirts of Delhi, set up by itinerant puppeteers from Rajasthan, which gave the colony its name. In the coming decades street performers of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra also moved in. The nature of their profession meant frequent traveling for performances and the need for public transport. The folk artists of Kathputli Colony have traveled to over 80 countries representing India with their art forms. Today, it is prime real estate area surrounded by

Mayapuri Mayapuri is an industrial locality in the West Delhi district of Delhi, India. It used to be a major hub of heavy metal and small-scale industries, but following government sanctions, most of the heavy metal industries moved out. The place is ...

and Naraina.

Redevelopment plan

In 2010, Government of Delhi initiated the redevelopment project of the colony on a public-private partnership basis. The contract was granted to Raheja Developers. As per the plan, 2800 flats will be built in 10-story buildings on the 5.2 hectares, apart from that a portion of the land will be given to the developer to construct its own commercial and residential buildings. Amid protests by residents and controversy, in early 2014, ahead of the 1 April 2014 deadline, some of the 2,754 families started shifting to transit camps built at Anand Parbat area 2 km away by the developer Rahejas. They are expected to stay here for the next two years, while the site undergoes construction.

References

Bibliography

External links

Kathputli Colony, DDA Rehabilitation website

Kathputli Colony, photo documentary of the slum of Delhi artists
* {{Coord, 28.655, N, 77.152, E, display=title Puppetry in India Street performance Neighbourhoods in Delhi West Delhi district Culture of Delhi