Visit to Old/Sick Artistes

What is the Visit to Old/Sick Artistes scheme?

Visit to Old/Sick Artistes is scheme number 31 in the list of 41 schemes run by the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), the autonomous body established by the Government of Goa in 2009 under the Department of Art and Culture. TAG's remit is to foster and co-ordinate tiatr activity and to promote cultural unity in Goa through the Konkani language.

Unlike most schemes in the TAG list, this one is not a grant that an artiste applies for. It is a welfare and outreach scheme run by the academy itself. The scheme document explains the reason plainly: TAG has observed that many veteran tiatr artistes "who have contributed to the development of tiatr immensely in the past, today have become old, and often pass their time in sickness/loneliness." TAG formulated the scheme so that occasional visits to these veteran artistes "will make them feel that TAG cares for them during their old age."

The scheme has two components. The first is the visit itself, made by members of the tiatr fraternity to the artiste's residence, or to the hospital if the artiste has been admitted, to inquire about their health. The second is a one-time financial assistance gifted by cheque during the first such visit, which the artiste can use for medical expenses.

Who is eligible, and who is not eligible?

An artiste qualifies if:

• They have contributed at least 10 years to tiatr; commercial or non-commercial — or to khell-tiatr or khell.
• As a writer or director, they have staged at least 10 tiatrs.
• As an actor or in any other role, they have performed in at least 50 tiatrs.
• They are old, or sick, or both, and TAG has been informed of their situation through a report from the tiatr fraternity.

An artiste is not eligible if:

• Their record falls short of the 10-year threshold, or of the 10-tiatr (writer/director) or 50-tiatr (actor and others) production count.
• Their work does not fall within tiatr, khell-tiatr or khell. The scheme does not extend to other performing arts.
• No report about them has reached TAG. Because the academy identifies beneficiaries from reports it receives, an artiste whom nobody has brought to TAG's notice will simply not be on the list, however deserving.

There is no income test, no age certificate requirement and no Aadhaar condition published in this particular scheme document, which is unusual for TAG schemes.

How to apply, or rather how a case reaches TAG

There is no prescribed public application form for scheme 31, so the practical route is a written reference to the academy. The steps below reflect how the scheme document says the process works.

1. Send a written report to the Tiatr Academy of Goa. Rule 1 says TAG "will identify the sick/old tiatr artistes based on reports from the fraternity", so a letter from a dramatic troupe, a cultural association or a fellow artiste is the trigger. Address it to the Member Secretary, Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001, or email tiatracademy@gmail.com.
2. Set out the artiste's record. Give the number of years in tiatr, khell-tiatr or khell, and the number of tiatrs performed in, written or directed, so that TAG can check the case against rule 2 without further correspondence.
3. Give the current situation and address. State whether the artiste is at home or admitted to a hospital, and give the address, the name of the hospital where relevant, and a contact number for a family member.
4. Wait for TAG to constitute a visit. Members of the tiatr fraternity volunteer for these visits. TAG provides the vehicle or a travelling allowance and refreshments or a working meal to the volunteers.
5. Receive the one-time gift on the first visit. A one-time financial assistance, as fixed by TAG, is gifted by cheque during the first visit of this nature.

What does TAG provide to the volunteers who visit?

The scheme funds the visit as well as the gift. Rule 4 says TAG will provide either a vehicle or a travelling allowance so that the members can travel, plus refreshments or a working meal. This matters because the visiting members are volunteers from the tiatr fraternity rather than TAG staff, and the scheme is designed so that the cost of showing up does not fall on them.

How much money does the artiste get?

TAG has not published a rupee figure. The scheme document says only that "a one-time financial assistance as fixed by TAG by cheque will be gifted to the artiste which he/she can use for his/her medical expenses." Because the amount is fixed by the academy rather than by the scheme rules, it can change from year to year and from case to case. Anyone advising a veteran artiste should ask the TAG office what is currently sanctioned rather than rely on a figure heard second-hand. Note also that the assistance is a gift for medical expenses, not a pension. It is not a recurring monthly payment.

Where this scheme sits alongside other help for Goan artistes

Veteran Goan artistes in financial difficulty are often eligible for more than one scheme at the same time. The Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa, runs Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi, which sanctions up to Rs 50,000 for medical treatment, up to Rs 25,000 for house repair after a natural calamity, up to Rs 10,000 towards funeral expenses and up to Rs 50,000 as an incentive for a self-employment venture, for recognised Goan artistes aged 50 and above whose annual family income is within Rs 2,00,000. TAG separately runs Lifetime Contribution to Tiatr Awards, which carry a cash award for artistes aged 60 and above with at least 20 years in the field. A family looking for support for an ageing tiatr artiste should look at all three rather than only at scheme 31.

Where do I raise a grievance about this scheme?

Contact the Tiatr Academy of Goa on 0832-2230738, fax 0832-2230739, or by email at tiatracademy@gmail.com, at AS-1, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001. Under the Right to Information Act, the Member Secretary of TAG is the Public Information Officer and the President of TAG is the First Appellate Authority. TAG also reserves the right, under rule 6 of this scheme, to make changes in the rules, so verify against the current PDF on the Schemes of TAG page before acting on any detail.

How to check your application status

There is no online tracking system for this scheme, because there is no online application to track. Since TAG builds its list of old and sick artistes from written reports sent in by the tiatr fraternity rather than from submitted forms, "checking status" here means following up on a report you have already sent, not tracking a case number in a portal.

• Call the TAG office directly. Phone 0832-2230738 and ask the office whether the report about the artiste has been received and whether a visit has been scheduled. Keep the artiste's full name, tiatr record and the date you sent the report ready, since TAG has no unique reference number to quote.
• Follow up in writing if you sent a letter. A written report can sit in a queue if the office is dealing with several cases at once. A short follow-up letter or email to tiatracademy@gmail.com, referring to your earlier correspondence by date, is the normal way to prompt a response.
• Ask the tiatr fraternity contact who raised the case. In practice, many reports come through a dramatic troupe, a cultural association or a well-known artiste who knows the family. That intermediary often has a better sense of where the case stands with TAG than the family does, since TAG tends to coordinate visits through such contacts.
• Visit the office in person if the matter is urgent. For a case involving a seriously ill artiste, an in-person visit to AS-1, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Campal, Panaji, tends to get a faster answer than a phone call, since someone can look at the file while you wait.
• Expect no fixed timeline. Because TAG relies on volunteers from the fraternity to actually carry out each visit, and coordinates a vehicle or travel allowance for them beforehand, there is no published turnaround time between a report reaching TAG and a visit taking place.

Common reasons for rejection

Because this is not a form-based application, an artiste is not "rejected" in the way a grant applicant would be. Instead, a case simply does not proceed, or proceeds slower than the family expects, for a small number of concrete reasons.

• The record falls short of the eligibility bar. An artiste with fewer than 10 years in tiatr, khell-tiatr or khell, and fewer than 10 tiatrs staged as writer or director or 50 performed in any other role, does not meet rule 2 of the scheme. The fix is to document the actual record fully in the report, including years spent in khell or khell-tiatr, which count toward the 10-year threshold even if the artiste is best known for tiatr.
• No report has actually reached TAG. TAG identifies beneficiaries only from reports from the fraternity. A family that assumes TAG already knows about an ageing or unwell artiste, without anyone having written in, will simply not see a visit happen. The fix is to send the written report yourself rather than wait for someone else to raise it.
• The artiste's work falls outside tiatr, khell-tiatr and khell. This scheme is specific to those art forms. An artiste from another Konkani or Goan performing art who does not have a tiatr, khell-tiatr or khell record is outside its scope, however long or distinguished their career, and should be directed to Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi or another Directorate of Art and Culture scheme instead.
• The report lacks enough detail to verify eligibility. A report that states only that an artiste is "old and sick" without giving years of service or a tiatr count gives TAG nothing to check against rule 2. Include approximate years active and a rough count of productions or performances so the office is not left to chase this information separately.
• The current address or hospital is not confirmed. Since the entire point of the scheme is a physical visit, TAG needs a reliable address or hospital name and a contact number for a family member. A report that gives only a village or locality, without a specific address, delays the visit even when the artiste is otherwise clearly eligible.