Vijaya Kumar

The 36 year old Vijaya Kumar belongs to Hejamadi Kodi village in Udupi district. He has been performing with the team for the past 20 years. He can play most of the instruments but he is currently playing Dollu. He learnt to play dollu from his father. He lives in a joint family of 10 members comprising of father, mother, sister, brother, sister-in-law, children and his wife. He has been married for four years. He is a BA graduate. He likes to be self-employed and has an inclination and feels happy to be involved in cultural programmes. In future also, he would like to stay in the cultural field. Being a versatile artist, he performs as a singer, drama actor, makeup artist, and folk dance choreographer. He has performed across all districts in Karnataka, and in other states like Mumbai, Chennai and Kerala. As he has been in this field for a long period of time, people know him and hence contact them for programmes. The remuneration for these shows varies from one show to the other. However, the average remuneration is a thousand rupees per day. On season and festive occasions like Ganesha Chaturthi and Navaratri they conduct 10 to 15 shows in a month. They also conduct shows in schools and colleges. Vijay Kumar who is currently an auto driver desires to grow in this field as an artist.