Creative Freedom in Indian art should prevail over moral policing by Indian regulators
In the hour of crisis, the mortals find solace in spirits and the men search for it in Karma. Long revered and worshipped have been those who have stuck to the legion and their common good, paving a path for justice to prevail over the dreary sands of countless deviations. This is how the less travelled path finally emerges after the winds start to settle. In a world where wisdom and opportunism are often considered synonyms, the lesser mortals trudge the easier road in the name of art and culture and vicariously disburse a feeling of creativity and thought leadership. The true leaders emerge out of practice, possibility, preparation, performance and poise. And they are the ones who we look up to as moral guides.
“The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society” – Daniel Patrick Moynihan
The rich Indian culture as we often address it has been thriving in the virtues of silence, tolerance and patience, keeping the world in awe of it. More often than not, these virtues have been considered as the chinks in our armour rather than the steel in it, and on every occasion that reckoned, we have shown that these are the strengths that have been ingrained into us. And those who thought the contrary have dropped their jaws in admiration of our moral and ethical victory. But wait for a moment, and take notice of how our virtues have changed the world and we realize that we would be travelling from the Black & White into the Grey. In the name of art and culture, we have been deteriorating to a nation seen more as a threat in this era of globalization than as an asset to this planet. Even when the whole world was applauding our ‘Slumdog’, there was no manifestation of the pride that we take in our economic and social development- They know that we are the ones who know the least about ourselves, and how true it is? Mockeries have been made of our Gods in the name of liberal arts and drama, and we have seen the ones we worship, reduce to mere characters and colours. Ironically and truly so in spite of all that we have achieved, we are always in a transition as we fail to accept that we are the leaders, because the rest show us a shaded mirror. Alas! We fail to accept that we are the gatekeepers of what our tradition has endowed us with. Who gave us the right to insult the conviction of the Mahatma, who gave us the roadmap that was paved with the alloy of culture, virtues and development, and whose last words were Hey Ram? A piece of art can at best make a statue of him, and to save time we choose to hire someone who could clean the morning ablutions of the birds on that statue, specially a day before 2nd October. However, we love to see more and more of him, albeit only in the form of currency notes in our account. Wait, ponder and decide- Where are we heading?
“Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and cruelties; it accepts certain sufferings as matters of course, puts up patiently with certain evils. Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap.” -Hermann Hesse
As we try and swim to the opposite bank, we nominate the sergeants of our moral values and culture and inadvertently wrest the initiative with them- the onus to be caretakers of what we consider unimportant and secondary. Yes, we do. Yes, we are the ‘Cut, Copy, Paste Generation’, yes we don’t cast our votes ( for us the PAN card and Passport are the ID proofs and not the Voters Card), yes we are the next- gen, Yes We are proud of what we are, although only passively. Two pegs of scotch down in an Institute party and we shall be able to digest all of this and much more, to be ready to dance to the mindless music of the DJ and pass out all of it the next morning, just to rush to the morning lecture . Yes we are the cream, which melts faster than it freezes. Uggh! We are…We are…! So what if someone distorts the culture in the name of moral policing on Valentine’s Day, I have to run fast to grow and compete. Being liberal is in, being traditional is obsolete (Oh come on! Did you not see my ethnic couture in my friend’s wedding?) Twist, malign and tolerate and if can’t do any of them, then just have another peg, we have bigger problems to tackle with our global view and competency.
Settling for the least worse is accepted in the garb of ‘Making the Best Choice’. The ‘Trickle Down Effect’ is hazardous for the society and our inherent Indian tradition, for what trickles down is just the residue of what we pour. Responsibility is for the capable, and liberalism is for the enlightened. In effect, where are we, still in a tryst. It makes sense to hold on to the previous step before we have put our foot firmly on the next- and the previous step is that of our rich tradition. It is and will always be the first step that we climbed and the firsts are always cherished and protected. To put it in perspective, let us analyze the current position of our culture in the modern context through a SWOT or a VRIO framework and the result would be evident. Regardless of what we do and where we reach, we shall always be Indians – then why not be proudly so with firm belief in our art and culture. For this very reason, we need to be the guardians of it. Awakened as we think we are, it is our duty to present it as our embellishment and let no one dare distort or misrepresent it. The regulatory authority is within each one of this awakened individual.
We often love to hear one of our friends whistle our favourite tunes, however whistling the same on the road may invite lesser appreciation. Thoughts, actions and their derivatives may be right in one context and detestable in the other. All of us have an equitable right to this nation, and hence an equitable responsibility towards each other. The reason why someone is allowed to indulge in policing is that we create a need for it. It is very much like asking the fox for the keys to the henhouse.
Awakening and Enlightenment are better alternatives to policing, whether that is for behaviour or for actions. The evolution of the world has seen the end of both extremes and the fittest remained so, because they could survive all conditions. No Government will ever be empowered enough to adjudicate if the citizens are not empowered to decide- A government is at best a sample of the large population. Paramount it is and will always be, to accept each other with clear definitions of public and private space. The regulation has to evolve from within, and in a manner that we don’t transgress these definitions.
Who is John Galt? As we out- trench and unleash our liberal self within clear space but demarcated boundaries, we would stand tall to discover him within us. So on, so on, so on….till then, who is John Galt?
