Arts in mainstream society

When we think of Indian arts – music, painting, dances, sculpture, to name a precious few – most of us think of the great artsites who perform nationally and internationally and are revered everywhere among their audiences. But they are only the best practitioners of those art forms. Can art forms be preserved by their best students alone?

Not everyone can become Suchitra Mitra or Ravi Shankar or Alla Rakha or Zakir Hussain or Rashid Khan, once again naming only a few of the maestros. But the art forms they have come to represent can be preserved better if more students commit themselves to learn them.

Many children begin music/dance/painting classes, especially in Bengal. Very few of them continue to learn and develop these talents through high school and beyond.

Uttar Pradesh is the seat of Hindustani Classical music – how many children in U.P. learn the music today? They don’t have to become Ustads but their training in the musical tradition will keep the gharana alive.

The Southern states have the incredibly rich tradition of Carnatic music and several dance forms – how many children learn them?

Every state of India has its unique tradition of music and other art forms – yet how many of us really know them or feel the need to know them?

Owing to a massive change in career choices and competition levels and demanding employment requirements it is perhaps very difficult to pursue careers in classical music or dance. But shouldn’t we make an effort to be aware of our own art forms and try to develop an appreciation for what we have? Aren’t we too  caught up in the latest gadgets, cars, expensive houses, clothes, irrespective of our locations in or outside India, and crucially forgetful of rich artistic traditions that we have inherited?

Not that everyone has to be appreciative of these art forms but at least we can all be attentive to them.  And not get teased by peers for playing a Ravi Shankar track on the computer.

My point is: we can appreciate Indian traditional music even while flipping through our iPhones. We can drive the latest Toyotas to an art museum. We can wear the best silks money can buy and yet differentiate between Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam. Yes. We  can.

Big Sur!

I think there’s a book by that name. I may be wrong. But there’s surely hundred reasons why someone would write a book about the place. The drive along the Pacific Ocean with its different shades of blue and green (nearer the rocky land) is an experience to remember. The famous scenic drives in many Hollywood films along the real-curvy road between the Pacific on one hand and the mountain on the other is a scene to be seen!

Nature with its beauty perhaps overwhelms one here – the vast ocean’s huge waves crash against some rocks near the coast but are too far below you for you to hear it; the sandstone hills loom tall and silent behind you while the scene in front mesmerizes you; the setting sun scatters its gorgeous golden dust among the white clouds across the clear blue sky; and a rainbow streaks the sky behind the hills. You smile.

Whoever painted this scene is a master artist – 

West Coast Ahoy!!!!

Lush green flatlands and sunny skies (not this winter though) of Florida changed into rocky, slate-colored, arid terrain of Arizona on our way westwards to the famed Bay area.

Wet winter of California greeted us at San Jose. But the pretty town of Campbell took our breath away! A quaint little town full of pine trees and trees whose branches are a few weeks away from breaking into varieties of green and brick-red and shades of purple. Small houses, small stores, small diners – a far cry from the tenements and standardized houses, the Sweetbays and Publixes, and Olive Gardens and Carrabbas dotting most big, busy, bustling American mega-cities.

A grey, drizzling, cold and windy morning not touched by sunlight overlooked our first view of the Pacific Ocean. Though we didn’t get to see the famous blue of the largest and deepest ocean in the world in our first meet, the experience was nevertheless very humbling. The Half-Moon Bay’s arms gave us a peak into the ageless waves that rolled out from the Californian coast and hugged the distant coast of Far East Asia. From where we stood, perhaps the next landmass was China… with a universe in between…. Oh my!

A long uphill drive along rather winding roads towards the Skyridge Mt. for a view of the Silicon Valley proved a little unnerving, literally. The uphill ride awakened my motion-sickness and a severe headache for which we turned around and drove back. I hope I’ll be able to see it at some point. The rather long flight from the east coast and time difference perhaps played their respective roles 🙂