by Varsha Sreenivasan
[box]Varsha Sreenivasan likens Indian culture to an ocean that opens its arms wide and accepts all the rivers that flow into it. The rivers are the many artists who chart their own courses and dissolve in this ocean. In an essay celebrating the October 2011 issue themed ‘The Culture of India – a Tribute’, she plots the journey of three great men, and shares their words of wisdom. [/box] [box type=”info”]MONTH: October 2011
THEME: THE CULTURE OF INDIA—A TRIBUTE
CONCEPT: This theme had been a dream of many months for us, for the richness and the variety of thought it can provide. We went for it in the October 2011 issue.
FEATURED PERSONALITIES OF OCTOBER 2011:
Dr.Devdutt Pattanaik, Mythologist and Author
Lakshmi Sharath, Travel blogger
Sivasankari Chandrasekharan, Tamil Writer
Radhika Prabhu, Dancer
Vijayendra Mohanty, Author of ‘Ravanayan’.
It was literally a dream come true for us. We had always wanted to do an issue that dealt with Indian mythology, arts, music and dance, literature and architecture. One of the many questions that haunted us was should we do a separate issue for each or should we combine them into one. We realised that a theme such as this gives a chance to explore many aspects – so as a first shot, we decided to put them all into one. And as things stand, don’t be surprised if we do separate issues on each of these too – we love these ideas way too much! As for the October 2011 edition, a must read for the art and literature inclined![/box]
Indian culture is like the vast ocean. Many rivers flow into it. The rivers may flood their banks, but the ocean does not.
It has space for all.
Alongside this New Year, we celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Spark, which in itself has been like a miniature ocean; letting the rivers of stories and views flow in and represent a theme for every month on the calendar. And this month, this ocean turns two, standing out as a microcosm of all the themes that have marked its journey for the last 24 months. I begin this write-up on the October 2011 theme, Indian Culture – A Tribute, with a humble observation on the young Editors Anupama and Vani, who founded and pioneered this effort to showcase new-age writing, forward thinking and evolving youth culture while being firmly rooted in a culture of simplicity, integrity, empathy and creativity which India is all about.
That said, we settle in to embark on a different journey this time. From the Source it emerges, to the Source it returns; the flame that was lighted, eternally burns, said a great poet of every soul. Many believe art is the eternal soul of Indian Culture. The theme is Indian Culture – A Tribute; and some rivers which originated from this ocean, plotted a course so unique and inspiring, shunning the smooth and weathered course, embracing wild terrains and blazing their signature trails back to the mighty ocean. This article is to pay a tribute to India’s great artists and warriors, Maqbool Fida Husain, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Jagjit Singh. With their departure, they made 2011 a landmark year in the history of Indian culture. Let’s set out to plot their course and see what we find in the impressions they left on the sands of time.
M.F Husain – Painter
This river originated in a place called Pandharpur in Maharashtra. This pilgrim city also known as Pandhari, is named after the self-realised saint Pandarika, and Lord Vishnu gets his name Pandharinath from being the object of his worship.
After losing his mother in his infancy, Husain relocated to Indore, passed through school, moved to Baroda, learned calligraphy and poetry, moved to Mumbai, survived by painting cinema hoardings and making toys, dabbled in landscape paintings and slowly but steadily went on to hold his first solo art exhibition in Switzerland. Europe, U.S., Middle East..the course of this river continued.
The laurels won on the way, which are aplenty, are not the reason we remember him now. Achievements come due to the person in question, and no achievement shines as bright as the contribution he made to the ocean of Indian culture.
A study of his paintings shows a revolutionary art of story telling encoded in them. They are a clear departure from most styles the world has seen so far. Mostly, all art flows from what existed before. But flowing into a whole new pattern and stamping it with an individual style is what Husain will be most remembered for. From here we switch to his own words from his interviews worldwide.
On his style of art –
“There are artists like Pablo Picasso, who I have worked with, and there are artists like Rembrandt and the human element of his art, which has left a great impression on me.
But as a worshipper of art, I have always absorbed the greatness of my predecessors and evolved my style.
For in the ultimate count, only style stays.”
On his approach to art –
“Pardon my insolence, but I observe the world with a child’s eyes.
I am always interested in everything I perceive.
To me, each day the world unfolds like a magic box, full of surprises, resplendent with colours.
It is this sense of awe and amazement that keeps me going even at this age.
Even a small stone in a corner of the room may catch my fancy and I can spend hours watching it.”
On mode of work –
“I don’t have a single studio in the whole world and maintain a bank balance of zero. I just go spread my canvass in hotel rooms, friends’ houses. I am like a folk painter who does things on the spot.”
On regrets if any –
“No regrets. Controversy comes from a few people who have not understood the language of Modern Art. Right from Galileo to Kalidasa, all great artists were harassed. Art is always ahead of time. Tomorrow, they will understand it.”
On India and legacy –
“A creative person is not bound by any geography. Visual arts is a universal language, you can be anywhere in the world but the work that you do has a strong link to 5,000 years of our great Indian culture.”
From the ‘Picasso of India’ we move on to the next river.
M.A.K. Pataudi – Cricketer
This river originated in Bhopal in the state of Madhya Pradesh. His mother was the daughter of the Nawab of Bhopal, while his father was the 8th Nawab of the princely state of Pataudi. From schooling inAligarh and Dehradun to college atOxford, he came a long way from home.
While at school, he developed his batting skills, going on to play forOxfordwhile at University. His career as an upcoming cricketer held great promise until a driving accident left him with just one good eye. Pataudi just went ahead with redesigning his approach to life, turning cricket into art – the art of facing world renowned bowlers with just one working eye; the art of making the bat connect with swinging deliveries when making the flame connect with the end of his cigarette was tough. In just a year’s time, he got himself in form to not just play, but to captain the Indian Cricket team for a Test series. For sheer grit and courage, his peers began to call him, ‘Tiger Pataudi’.
But let’s see what Tiger Pataudi had to say in his autobiography, about the process of coping with a disabling event that changes one’s life and hopes forever.
On life after the accident –
“As far as everyday life was concerned it did not take me long to get adjusted. Mind you, I still find it difficult to drive at night because the headlights bother me.
The worst thing is overtaking when another car is approaching from the other side of the road; I find it difficult to judge precisely how far away the other car is.”
On approach to Cricket –
“It took me a long time to realise I had virtually lost the use of one eye, but even then, never for an instant did I consider I might not be able to play cricket again. On the whole I favoured the quicker stuff, slow spin was so difficult to follow in flight but gradually I learnt to judge pace by the amount of flight and the effort that the bowler was putting into it.”
On creating opportunities out of disappointment –
“Because I was told I wouldn’t be able to read for some time, I returned with my mother and sister toIndiain order to recuperate.
Back home people didn’t realise to what extent my eye had been injured and I, determined to play as much cricket as possible, did not of course encourage their curiosity.
When asked to captain the President’s team against the visiting M. C. C. team under Ted Dexter, atHyderabad, I jumped at the chance…”
From India’s trailblazer cricketer we move to who is described as, ‘the first real ghazal singer from India’.
Jagjit Singh – Singer
This river was born in Sri Ganganagar in the state of Rajasthan. Though he went through the full course of academics from schooling to college at Jalandhar and Haryana, he concentrated on learning music. Beginning his training with a blind teacher, he went on to grasp and perfect the multiple aspects of the art from various masters.
Jagjit then began his musical journey singing devotional songs in gurudwaras and earned a living by singing for Jalandhar’s radio station. Hoping to find a way to further his art through playback singing, Jagjit moved to Mumbai. After living by composing jingles, working on ad films and documentaries, Jagjit married another artist, Chitra, and bolstering each other, they went on to snatch ghazal singing from the niche exclusive culture it was being boxed into and served it to larger audiences. The voices were fresh, the style was different; somehow by sharing it with everybody, Jagjit-Chitra had revived the dying art in a brand new avatar. Listeners admired the soul in his voice and his devotion to the art, and most of all, they loved his open approach to modern audiences. They lovingly called him the ‘Ghazal King.’
Let’s see what Jagjit Singh had to say in his interviews to the media, on music.
On approach to music requiring devotion and unfailing practice –
“Music is a vast subject. There is mathematics and grammar in music. Unless one knows all of it, he cannot become a good singer. One should learn music for 15 years before actually trying their hands at singing ghazals.”
On role of music for inspiration, not competition –
“The moment one brings competition into music, the soul is lost.”
Parting message to young Indians –
“My good wishes are with all of you. I request that if you are smoking, quit smoking. Look after your elders and take care of your parents. It’s extremely important.”
We bid these rivers a fond farewell and hope to keep their legacy alive as we start a brand new year without them. There will be brand new rivers and the eternal Ocean waiting for them. We are those rivers.
Happy New Year.
Varsha Sreenivasan is an ex-media professional currently involved in the field of filmmaking. She prefers to describe herself as a student of Nature like everyone else is. She believes, as such a student, she is still learning. She dabbles in juvenlie poetry and prefers rhyme to reason.
[box type=”download”] If you have trouble opening the PDF, please right click on the button and select ‘Save Link As/Save Target As’. This will help save the PDF to your computer. If you still have trouble, drop us a mail at editors@sparkthemagazine.com and we will mail you the PDF straight to your inbox! DON’T MISS THE PDF EXPERIENCE![/box] [button link=”https://sparkthemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/spark-january-2012.pdf” color=”red” newwindow=”yes”] Read it all at one go! Download the PDF here![/button] [button link=”http://issuu.com/sparkeditor/docs/spark-january-2012?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=000000&showFlipBtn=true” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Flip and read like a mag on the e-reader! Click here![/button]
[facebook]Share[/facebook] [retweet]Tweet[/retweet]
