Culture canvas
DEEPA KANDASWAMY
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To encourage creative thought, we need arts courses in schools.
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K. Ramesh Babu
Art is the barometer of a culture. Why? Because it reflects society's deepest philosophical values — the true view of Man and existence. Art manages to x-ray the image of our entire society as stretched out on the "virtual" psychiatrist's couch and we stand exposed.
"You paint? How fascinating! But, seriously what do you do?" This is a common refrain you hear in Indian society, especially in middle class circles. We tend to dismiss art as something irrelevant to our existence except to score "status" points. The reaction is the same for literature, music, dance and sculpture. This neglect of art has persisted because its function is non-social. Art and artistic pursuits have been actively discouraged by Indian society for the past two decades. It started in the 1980s, when most schools, replaced the "Arts Group" with the "Computer Science Group" in high school. Why did they have to remove the Arts group? Unfortunately, we don't have enough concerned citizens, especially parents questioning this trend or organising themselves to protest against the current education system where learning by rote has replaced creative thinking.
Painting is acceptable as a hobby today, at best an indulgence. The same is true for sculpture, pottery, music and writing. Increasingly children are becoming upset or frustrated because they are overworked and as a result overstressed. The Std. XII board examination and the entrance examinations to colleges are viewed with dread. The entire family is tense. Why? It could be because children are expected to achieve in fields not of their choosing. In the mounting stress of living and working, young and old alike attend holistic classes and undergo therapies to de-stress. One father confessed, "I think I made a mistake in forcing my son into a Computer Science group. He wanted to do Botany. He is now a burnout and is on medication." This is just one example. While we as Indians might pride ourselves on our IT accomplishments, what is the part played by art in our culture. The decline of art appreciation in India has given rise to two trends — increasing consumerism and the imagined worthlessness of a Bachelor of Art degree. Of the two, the second trend is proving to be the more dangerous. Rising intolerance in our society can be directly traced to the decline of importance given to artistic expression. Mob censorship and writers and artists being attacked is now commonplace. Lack of artistic appreciation is having a devastating effect on respecting another's right to expression. After all, the foundation for great Indian civilisation was its diversity of art forms and a rich tradition of art patronage. It is time to let children be creative again. We could make a beginning by bringing back the "Arts Group" in schools and give the children the choice they so rightly deserve which would go a long way into creating a more tolerant society.
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