Greatness gone sour!

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 5^th or 6^th 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. 

Frightening Railways!

The existing state of affairs in the railways frightens me.

That the major issues of any large organization should always remain on the radar of the top management is a philosophy that is being defied with impunity in the organization. What is also being defied are the well established roles defined for the board, headquarters and divisional offices with almost everyone jumping on the bandwagon to perform mundane jobs. Mundane jobs because perhaps they come naturally even to those in the hierarchy who are meant to impart vision and a sense of direction to the organization.

It saddens me to witness that the use of intemperate language in meetings, discussions, file notings and official communications is on the ascension. Frayed tempers, high decibels and use of abusive language, traits that are identified with family owned under performing business houses have started emerging as a hallmark in the functioning of the railway bureaucracy. A grand spectacle of one up man ship based on belittling others is on display almost always in the ministry and headquarters offices. That the working of a commercial organization that is in monopoly in a massive sellers market can be unpleasant to the core is a reality that can be experienced only within the confines of the railways.    

It defies logic that after almost a hundred and sixty years of existence, we still lack clarity on the type of organization we are. We swing alternately from being a department of the government to a commercial setup and end up being neither. Our performance therefore takes a direct hit as we have perhaps emerged as one of the finest examples of a commercial setup defying the established practices and systems that should be the building blocks of any setup that identifies itself with commercial activities.

The smooth rise of mediocrity up the hierarchial ladder is a cause of discomfiture for all those, and there are still many of the kind, who have the welfare of the organization as their sole concern. Yet the state of affairs is likely to continue as long as pygmies continue to hold sway in this organization that till recently had a great prefixed to its name. How times change, for the worse?