Kudumbashree - Success Story of Navajyothi Rangashree Group

For those who had fallen in love with letters, those who wished to gain applauses by enacting their favorite characters in stages and those artists who were destined to restrict themselves and hibernate themselves following marriage and other family crises, Kudumbashree Mission’s Rangashree Community Theatre is now extending opportunities for as many women to fulfill their childhood dreams and to earn livelihood out of the same.

Rangashree

Rangashree is the community theater group of Kudumbashree Mission. Rangashree teams are setup in 13 districts out of the 14 districts in the state. Rangashree community theatre had already became the attractive presence in the programmes of Kudumbashree Mission and other governmental departments for awareness programmes in the respective districts.

Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre

The members of Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre, which was registered as a micro enterprise under Kudumbashree Mission in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala is excited that they could find an income for their family through their artistic skills.  Smt. T.P Hemalatha is the president of Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre and Smt. Maya Amritha Kumar is the secretary of the team. Smt. Usha Thomas, Smt. Sherly Shaiju, Smt. Sudha Surendran, Smt. Ambika Anil and Smt. Geetha Rajan are the other members of the unit.  

Those members who had interest in art were selected and were given special training in drama, music and acting. Out of them, those who were willing to become part of Rangashree Community Theatre were selected and the Community Theatre Group was formed. Kudumbashree Mission had given a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh as crisis fund.

The Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre team their debut through the ‘Swasthyam Campaign’, the cancer awareness campaign organized under the leadership of Kudumbashree Pathanamthitta District Mission on Pathanamthitta district. They had performed street play four to five time in all Local Self Government Institutions(LSGIs) in every Panchayath un the district.

After those performances, they became famous in the district. Using the income, they got through that the debts of the unit were solved. Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre also started getting the programmes of Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham and Lottery Department and other departments as well. After completing the script, the drama is presented before the concerned people and only after getting the approval of the concerned officials, the drama is presented before the public.

Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre had already performed dramas for the publicity of Navakerala lottery, the lottery ticket launched by the Directorate of Kerala Lotteries, Government of Kerala in an aim to collect additional fund towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for flood rehabilitation activities and for Rebuilding Kerala following the unprecedented floods occurred in Kerala during August 2018. Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre had also performed for the street play for the election campaign in tribal areas. The income is fixed as per the booking of the programmes. When there are more programmes, a Rangashree community theatre team member would get an average income of Rs 1000.  The members of Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre is planning to buy a mic set of their own and also plans to set up an office of their own, using the Rs 2.50 lakhs received as Technology Fund from Kudumbashree Mission. They also plan to start performing dramas in churches and temples during the festive seasons.

The concept of Rangashree Community Theatre of Kudumbashree Mission had brought as many talents who were stuck up in the miseries of their own lives to their dream come true. The members of Navajyothi Rangashree Community Theatre are the living examples of self-confidence and courage to succeed in life.