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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Can Art Education control the current restlessness?


When I was working at the Grand Hyatt, I had an enlightening conversation with one of the resident guests over there named Ms.Ritu Kaul. Mrs. Kaul runs an initiative named 'Art 1st' and this organization ( if I may call it) aims at promoting art education/activities among the children in the 'less looked at' municipal schools of Mumbai. During our chat, she mentioned that our right side of the brain responds to art and creativity while the left side of the brain is responsible for being academic. Education in India and also the general Indian mindset gives importance to the left side of the brain and hence art and creativity have been neglected all these years in Indian schools. I would thank Mrs. Kaul for this was the trigger to my thoughts. I have always appreciated arts but this information made me think on a completely different line.

I changed my job this year and consequently enrolled myself to an executive MBA program. The first subject that we were taught was Business Communications. Professor Sundar Sharma did an amazing job of gently drilling the concepts of the subject in our mind. However, one of the topics did leave a lasting impression in my mind and I could relate that to what Mrs.Kaul told me the previous year. In the topic of 'Emotional Self Awareness', I found a concept which said 'Respond rather than giving a reaction.' This concept also had some scientific stuff associated with it but I would not expand it here. Instead I would uphold this concept in my larger understanding of Arts. Arts as a solution to the growing restlessness in the society.

The most important thing Art does to you is that it makes you think! It makes you wait for the next moment and such consequent moments until you reach the final outcome. Lets assume that a Classical Musician is rendering a Rainy Season 'Raaga'; or a painter is painting a rainy season landscape with all possible elements he could encompass; or a potter is creating a beautiful clay pot; or a quilt-maker is creating an amazing quilt piece! Now each of these art-forms possess a process. None of these will give you a spontaneous result, instead they have a gradual outcome! None of them include a shortcut. The creator ( here the artist) should possess patience of the highest degree while he reaches the final outcome. So should the listeners/viewers of these arts. In short, they should enjoy the process rather than thinking of the final outcome. While enjoying this process - i.e while enjoying the progression of notes in a Raaga, or enjoying the progression of every fine line in a sketch, or enjoying every swirl in a pottery creation - we gradually increase our patience levels! For we are now not reacting to the art, we are now responding to the art!

Now lets see what happens otherwise. We are a society where we are constantly on the run! While in the metropolis we literally are on the move, largely due to our routine and also due to the work pressures and targets! We are a target-oriented lifestyle. This target is not only the Sales Target that the sales guys have! It could also be a target of the other departments, say as ' completing 500 emails before 5:30 and hence be ready to catch the 6:35 local from Dadar.' These targets are imposed on us because of the time factor imposed on us by this changed lifestyle. But are we aware that this target-oriented approach breeds impatience? Compare your approach to life when in college and now when working. We can easily realize the drop in the level of patience among us. We are left with the aim of reaching our destination as early as possible and that unfortunately, remains our only priority.  That is the reason we see an autorickshaw driver impatiently changing lanes to overtake the vehicle ahead even if it stops for a minute; we see people impatiently crossing the road and not having patience to stand the whole 60 seconds till the signal turns green ( 60 seconds! Is it way too much? Think about it... ); we see people honking horns even if the vehicle ahead stops for a second. And in the rural areas? People in the rural areas may not have a lifestyle which matches the pace of their urban counterparts! But they have a race within themselves. A race to match the urbanites in their lifestyle and become like them. This race generates impatience in them and consequently the same type of symptoms develop within them. Impatience is bred among all - whether a rural or an urban living being.
Impatience generates an impulse. Impulse generates a reaction!

And what this reaction is?  An abuse, a threatening action, an assault or in the further larger context even a riot or a rape! Now when do we abuse? Let us say we are driving a car and suddenly someone comes in between and hampers our speed! We abuse that person without considering the fact that it is just a matter of a few minutes and we would again be at our normal speed. We abuse because we are in a hurry and we do not want a hindrance. So what could be done to control the sudden impulse that is generated from our side? We can enjoy the 'process' of driving the vehicle than always thinking of the 'outcome' ( destination) of our drive. This sudden impulse could be controlled if we train our mind by the arts way! Increase the patience and do not react. Just respond to the situation. This same logic can be implied to a person who is in a hurry to cross a road before the pedestrian signal turning green! What if he enjoys the 'process' of standing there till the signal turns green rather than thinking of the 'outcome' ( the other side of the road)? Apply this concept to the daily examples of we behaving restlessly and causing indiscipline around us. Art education can definitely generate patience among us and will help us resolve a lot of daily problems!

Now how will Art education help in addressing the larger issues of riots and rapes? Seems unrealistic but the patience built up through Art education will help people put forward a better argument rather than attacking each other in case of a riot or dominating a woman in case of rape! All these seem very idealistic concepts. Well they definitely are but I am sure they are worth a serious thought. For whatever is the situation, everything boils down to the impulse that is generated and this impulse decides how we react to a particular situation. Are we abusive if someone comes our way while driving? Do we portray threatening gestures if someone comes our way while walking? Do we go and grab collars while arguing with others? Do we feel like dominating a woman who comes our way and irks us due to strange reasons? The only way to control this impulse is to generate an ability to listen to others, be patient in our argument and enjoy the 'process' rather than thinking of the 'outcome' always. For this will control the restlessness in the society. And Art is definitely a way in doing so.

By the way, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, one of the greatest vocalist produced by this country is reported to have said:
" If every child in this country would have been taught Classical Music, partition of India would not have happened?"  Any takers to relate this to what I wrote above? For I go by the blog name - 'Relating the Unrelated.'


-Aashay Gune :)