Shyopat Julia, a mashak (Rajasthani version of the bagpipe) player from Rawla Mandi district, Rajasthan, remembers the waves of the pandemic as a dark period in his nearly 35-year-long career. Payments had dried up, work was scarce, and it was trying to even put out three square meals for his family of 15. Like Julia, thousands of folk artistes have been reeling from the blow of the pandemic. When the world came to a screeching halt in 2020, The Teamwork Fine Arts Society — a production company that works closely with the performing arts sector — started receiving distress calls from many artistes. It led them to host the first edition of I Believe Art Matters, an online fundraising concert to help these artistes tide through choppy waters.

The Ao Naga Choir has collaborated