Kathputli Colony
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
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File:Puppeter of Kathputli colony.jpeg
Kathputli Colony is a colony of street performers in Shadipur Depot area of Delhi. 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. This makes it world’s largest community of street performers.{{cite news|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/show-begins-at-kathputli-colony/423940/ |title=Show begins at Kathputli Colony |date=16 Feb 2009 |work=Indian Express |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009231214/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/show-begins-at-kathputli-colony/423940/ |archivedate=2012-10-09 }}{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1816792,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626091421/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1816792,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 June 2008|title=Postcard from Kathputli: Magic Abounds in a Delhi Slum|date=20 Jun 2008|magazine=Time magazine | first=Heidi J. | last=Shrager}}
The colony is undergoing an in situ redevelopment plan by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) of Government of Delhi.{{cite magazine| title = The World's Largest Community of Street Performers Is About to Be Torn Apart |magazine=Time| url = https://time.com/12073/india-kathputli-colony-of-street-artists-to-be-demolished/|date=4 March 2014| access-date = 2014-03-31}}
Etymology
The name Kathputli Colony comes from Hindi language 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.{{cite book|author1=Regina F. Bendix|author-link=Regina Bendix|author2=Galit Hasan-Rokem|author2-link=Galit Hasan-Rokem|title=A Companion to Folklore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qhsdhM9tI3EC&pg=PA244|date=23 April 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-9499-0|page=244}} 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.[https://norient.com/sunayana-wadhawan/concrete-jungle In the Concrete Jungle] by Sunayana Wadhawan, [https://norient.com Norient], 29 September 2023. Today, it is prime real estate area surrounded by Mayapuri and Naraina.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/magic-slum-may-vanish-in-puff-of-development-smoke-20100326-r33a.html|title=Magic slum may vanish in puff of development smoke|date=27 March 2010|work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}
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.{{cite web | title = 'Delhi's famous colony of magicians and puppeteers awaits destruction'|publisher=Scroll.in | url = http://scroll.in/article/660832/Delhi%E2%80%99s-famous-colony-of-magicians-and-puppeteers-awaits-destruction/|date=13 April 2014| accessdate = 2014-07-25 | first = Arnav | last = Das Sharma }}
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.{{cite web | title = 'DDA granted undue benefits to Kathputli Colony redeveloper' |work=The Hindu | url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/dda-granted-undue-benefits-to-kathputli-colony-redeveloper/article5836547.ece|date=27 March 2014| accessdate = 2014-03-31 | first = Mohammad | last = Ali }}
{{cite web | title = Rumour mills stall DDA in Kathputli Colony |publisher=Deccan Herald| url = http://www.deccanherald.com/content/389274/rumour-mills-stall-dda-kathputli.html |date= 1 March 2014|accessdate = 2014-03-31 }}{{cite web | title = Transit camps for Kathputli Colony residents coming up at Anand Parbhat|work= The Hindu | url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/transit-camps-for-kathputli-colony-residents-coming-up-at-anand-parbhat/article2906503.ece
|date=18 February 2012| accessdate = 2014-03-31 | first = Jiby | last = Kattakayam }}{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/government/delhi-kathputli-colony-demolition|title=Uprooted Lives: Delhi's Kathputli Colony Residents Watched Their Homes Razed to the Ground|website=The Wire}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite web|title=The Case of Kathputli Colony: Mapping Delhi's First In-situ Slum Rehabilitation Project|url=http://www.cprindia.org/sites/default/files/The%20Case%20of%20Kathputli%20Colony_CPRWorkingPaper%20(2)_1.pdf|publisher=Centre for Policy Research}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
External links
- [http://www.kathputlicolonydda.com/ Kathputli Colony, DDA Rehabilitation website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407051002/http://www.kathputlicolonydda.com/ |date=7 April 2014 }}
- [http://www.sergebouvet.com/kathputli-colony/ Kathputli Colony, photo documentary of the slum of Delhi artists]
- {{cite news |work=ABC News Australia |title=Slum artists refuse to leave as Indian developer attempts to bulldoze homes in New Delhi |first=Stephanie |last=March |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-13/indian-developer-wants-to-bulldoze-artists-slum-in-new-delhi/6090088}}
{{Coord|28.655|N|77.152|E|display=title}}