Demi - god performers await govt support

It is hard to believe that Bhoja Poojari, a demi-god performer, aged 74, has been living with his family in a rented house in Jeppu near Kankanadi, Mangalore from 40 years.

As his family tradition, he performs demi-god rituals as a Darshana Patri of Rajan Daiva. His life in these years has become miserable owing to poverty and his deteriorating health, which symbolises the fate of many such demi-god performers in the coastal districts. Bhoja Poojari spoke to Deccan Herald and said that he is not being provided with any government aid and is deprived of old-age pension also. 
Hereditary job
Bhoja Poojari is blessed with two sons and two daughters. Sons are continuing the family tradition.

 The elder son Bhaskar is a Darshana patri of Vishnumurthy Daiva and he carries out tailoring work, whenever there are no demi-god rituals (Nemothsavas). Younger son Niranjan is an ‘amritha kalashakara’ in Kanila Bhagavathi Kshetra, Manjeshwar.  
Way of life
Bhoja Poojari told that a ‘darshana patri’ is bound to follow several rules cast upon him by the code-of-conduct. As a Rajan Patri, he can neither wear a shirt nor can he wear sandals. He should keep himself away from addictions and also the people living with him should follow some rules with regard to the sanctity of the deity, he added. 
Samskara Bharathi (a Mangalore based cultural organisation) member and demi-god performer Dayananda Kattalsar told that the senior demi-god performers such as Bhoja Poojari cannot perform during old age and it will be difficult for them to earn their daily bread. 
They do not get old - age pension as they don’t know how to claim it. 

Dayananda feels that the government should step forward to help these senior folk artists and make arrangements to collect necessary information from the doorstep of artistes’ towards facilities such as old age pension scheme, provision of sites etc, he suggested. Many old aged demi-god performers in the coastal belt still hope for a better future awaiting a lease of life.