According to Kalika Prasad of Dohar (a folk music band), performing arts should ideally not be dependent on the media. Instead, the scenario can be perceived as a two-way traffic. Whether in Bengali music or elsewhere, media doesn’t create artists as much as they use them for commercial purposes. He feels that in order to ensure a healthy development and progress of music or any performing arts for that matter, there is an immediate need for an independent platform which is outside the grasp of the corporate controlled media. He fondly talks about the glory days of IPTA and its significant and qualitative cultural output. He considers the media’s failure to bridge the gap between the artist and the audience as its biggest letdown.
