Three creative blokes from Brooklyn tell us about a unique magician-performer colony in New Delhi that's about to disappear

The reason former US First Lady Laura Bush knows about a bridge at Shadipur Depot in South Delhi is thanks to the people who live under it. Kathputli Colony is an unusual slum that's home to hundreds of puppeteers, magicians, acrobtas, monkey trainers and performers, who once lived the life of gypsies. It's a world in itself, segregated into sections depending on the specialised prowess of its residents. And so, you can choose to drop by at Kalakaron ki Basti or Madari colony, as residents dressed in vibrant circus attire dodge heaps of garbage lying on either side of a dirt track.


Ishamudin stands on his roof, as his son puts things away after a magic
act. Ishamudin gained global recognition in 1995 when he first performed
the Indian Rope Trick. Pic/Joshua Cogan / Tomorrow We Disappear

And this world that fits into a 5.22-hectare plot is about to be razed. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had talked of its desire to clear the capital's slums, known as jhuggi jhopri clusters, before it hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games.


Sixteen year-old Maya Pawa's parents began stretching her limbs when
she was three years-old. Now, she is regarded as the most talented
acrobat in the colony. Pic/Joshua Cogan / Tomorrow We Disappear

Newspaper reports suggested that as part of a scheduled two-year redevelopment, the builder agreed to move the colony's residents to a temporary site. But only those families with valid identification cards would be granted homes. A door-to-door survey conducted by the DDA counted 2,700 families but unofficial estimates put the number at 10,000. The lives of these artistes is nothing but ironic. They have lived in squalor for 50 years with little support from the government. But when it comes to showcasing India to the world, officials turn to Kathputli's residents.


Where else in the world can you enter a slum full of artists and have
them offer to show you photo albums stuffed with pictures of themselves
with Laura Bush, and former presidents of India? --Jim Goldblum, director

The colony caught the fancy of three American artists Jim Goldblum, Adam Weber, and Joshua Cogan who arrivedu00a0 in Delhi in 2011 to film Tomorrow We Disappear. Goldbum speaks to Sunday MiD DAY over email about the success of their first shooting schedule, and how even a 'Delhi Belly', unbearable heat and stubborn rickshaw drivers cannot discourage them for revisiting this month to wrap up the project.

Could you tell us about the people involved with this project?
My name is Jim Goldblum, and I am director and interactive producer of the film. In 2008, I won an Emmy for New Approaches to Documentary for the film, LiveHopeLove.com, which was an interactive documentary I produced with Bluecadet, Josh Cogan, and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Adam Weber is co-director for Tomorrow We Disappear. Weber is an editor, who has worked for directors like Quentin Tarantino and Michel Gondry. Our Director of Photography, Will Basanta is an amazing shooter, whose film Jess+Moss premiered at the Sundance festival last year. He is working alongside my old friend, Joshua Cogan, to make this film beautiful.u00a0