Musings On Indian Art And Culture

In a long history of Indian modern art we still could not found the way or the vision which could lead us beyond reproduction and representation. Today modern art is completely business oriented. Artists are just business people, petty in thinking; rarely there is any artist who really understands modernitys consciousness. Nowadays creativity is synonymous to good looking art, beautiful, decorative and crafty. A new group of capitalists have appeared on the horizon of Indian modern art to promote art and multiply the capital. Women from business families have come out from their closed
houses.

Bored by day to day life they have found a new opening in Indian modern art, for them its very interesting to talk and discuss art issues with some illiterate artist coming out from remote areas. Having lost all glamour of sex life, family life, and partying with their husbands; they have now invented a new concept for their enjoyment in art. Art means partying, kissing and drinking than making some fuss about art and its market. Artist feels fortunate to see himself in such a big party arranged by his malkin or malik gallery owner. A gallery owner makes scandals, to raise prices of a particular artist in online auction or auctions arranged by them physically in some five star hotels, they earn millions and millions.

Artists are not concerned with art and creativity either; they are more concerned with their names in auction list. Artists are no more Artists, they are craftsman; creating things on demand basis. Once they have started selling their craft (since their art is more decorative than artistic) they go on creating same thing. Ranjit Hoskote, says in an article in Business Week that fear is that artists may be sacrificing quality for quantity. Given the growing demand, some artists have become painting factories. Let us take example of some known names in Indian modern art, Ramkumar, T.Vaikuntham, Jogen Chaudhury, M.F.Husain to name few among many are producing same kind of works; boring and monotonous since a long time, far it is in demand. They never tried to transcend styles as though they have no creative urge. They never contemplated on arts dangerous ability to go toward what exists, by the infinite multiplicity of the imaginary.

Other leading art forms too like cinema, dance, and music are not lagging behind, here Kiss and sex is creativity since sex sells. See how do Rakhi Sawant kinds of item girls take creativity? Rakhi Sawant says, yadi mere dance mein mazaa nahin aata toh mujhe dekh kar enjoy karo. She has nothing to offer except her vulgar body, she confesses, Aaj kal ke latest fashion mein ye dance hota hai, jo dikhta hai vo aaj kal ka fashion hai.

This is not only Rakhi Sawant case; films are also using the same concept of creativity. Look at Mahesh Bhatt directed majority of films, he too has nothing to offer except sex, murder, and movies on extramarital affairs, and premarital affairs. No doubt there are some great Indian directors in film industry who do offer love, relationship, sex in a very creative way, they dont deny sex but they never go for a vulgar exposition of sex which is very natural human behavior. Those who are pro to vulgarity and justify it as most important thing, forget that it needs not be taught since it is a biological instinct which everyone knows by birth. You dont need to teach man how to make sex; its a genetic behavior which even a blind man can perform well. Opposed to these art forms literature has two categories: one which does not belong to creative aspect of literature and another one which only belongs to feudal-bourgeoisie petty emotions.

Regarding first category it is a fact that literati belongs to this category are pseudo Marxists, who do believe that all literature is socio-political in nature. Therefore the characters set forth in action in a set story line in a novel or in a short story; are peculiar in deeds and thought. They are obscure images who neither represent a social- being nor a Marxist man; rather they are ideological representatives in their vagueness. They are vague in deeds and thoughts since they never confront truth of life. Life does not revolve around bread only it has some higher purposes; it is creative in its being.

Another approach taken by feudal-bourgeoisie literati intellectuals is full of hedonism representing those very individualists, who never think for others. They write stories of pubs and parties, they have everything tradition, religion, jadu-tona, ghosts, and witches. Its reflecting visually on television channels like Star Plus, Zee etc. In the hot Serials of these channels Women and Men is being represented utterly superstitious and ritualistic. Recently the ideal of that society and he who belongs to that society shown his beliefs openly in his action; I am talking about Amitabh-Aishwarya-Abhishek trio. See how they had shown us the path to progress. They wanted to show us that since they are famous and rich, they can promote anything superstition, jadu- tona, sacrifice, ritualism etc. This is but logical for them; above all people always follow to those who are successful in the society.

Author is an art critic and writer of three books ' con temporizing Buddha', ' Hindu Tantra Yoga' and 'concerning the spiritual in art-an Indian modern art perspective'. He has been awarded with 'Lalit Kala Academy Scholarship Award' for art criticism in 2005. Working on a book 'Buddhist tantra yoga'. He lives and works in Delhi India.

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