Benoy touched the core of the
heart of everyone who had assembled at the bhartiya vidya bhawan for the two
day course on art history and appreciation the last weekend. The course was
also unique as it was attended by a senior cabinet minister Kumari Shailja who was
conspicuous by the total absence of the trappings of power that people in her
rank have a flair for display. It is rare that one came across a
minister who was almost human and humane.
For me the course was also unique
in that it was the first class in which my young one sat with me as an equal,
for there can never be and should never be differentiation between students.
The course was interspersed with
beautiful films produced by Benoy during the course of his travels in search of
the Indian art, both in the form of paintings as well as sculptures. That till almost the 5th or 6th
century, the art was inspired by love for the divine and all his creations after
which it started withering in favor of the sponsors and the rulers was indeed
the most powerful thought that emanated from the discourse. The various art
forms that were created in the early times, inspired by the divine were true creations
of love and therefore every single creation was a masterpiece. This is in stark
contrast to the art of the present times that is driven by crass commercial
interests and therefore most of it is of the pedestrian variety with only a few clearing the masterpiece criterion.
Benoy dwelt at length on the joy
of painting and sculpting in ancient times. There were no portraits and never
was the name of artist mentioned on the art form. Portraits and the practice of the artist projecting himself however started around
the mugal era and has perpetuated since then. In the present times, the
contemporary Indian art as they call it is chiefly inspired by the love of the
moolah and the desire to be known, and therein lies the major difference in the quality of the art.
Perhaps it is the same in all
fields. A work performed with crass commercial interests or for the sake of
self perpetuation is bound to be inferior to one that is inspired by the love
and the joy of creation. Be it a teacher imparting education to children or a
musician stringing his guitar or even a chief executive of an organization performing
his role, a performance inspired by the good of the society and the joy of
creation is always far superior even to a one that is toned by the latest technology
and/or marred by self serving interests.
What a fall, not only in the field
of art is perhaps a striking thought that comes to mind after the course.
Another thought that comes to mind is the greatness of the Indian nation in
ancient times, a nation so developed economically and spiritually that
it defies conventional logic when we look at the present times of absolute
depravity and self aggrandizement especially amongst the ruling classes.
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