Save our Artists, Save our Art

“We don't read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is full of passion.”

I’m sure most of us here have already come across this famous quote from the movie The Dead Poet’s Society, a quote that deeply resonates amongst the massive strata of the society. Literature, art, and poetry is something that isn’t just for entertainment but something which provides us with substance for life, something we rely on to live this chaotic but beautiful journey called life. Coming directly to the point now, something that’s pleasurable for us, which sustains us, are the creators and producers of that very art, that very piece of literature being able to sustain them? Is the society they very much work for, striving day and night to make it a little more lovable and liveable even through the cracks, distorted borders, conflicts- they rise above it all and bring out the true meaning of life and the point of the entire human race, and this very community struggles to live and survive on a daily basis. This harsh competitive world loves consuming art but fails to cherish the makers of it, harsh but sad reality.

For a country like India, history is the witness of the rich culture, art, and literature this country is embedded with but with invasions, colonization's and other historical conquests we’ve also lost a lot, and to top this calamities like this Pandemic has robbed the craftsmen of their means of a steady income and pushed the artisan community deeper into the shallows. These talented workers and artisans are not only overworked but also severely underpaid. For instance every year, a handful of artisans come to Delhi, from Kolkata, at least three months before Durga puja to make these clay figurines. Durga Puja is one of India’s most popular Hindu festivals which are celebrated with great enthusiasm. The devotees worship the idol for five days and later immerse her in the river Yamuna. But amid celebrations, the artisans behind these life-sized Durga idols are often treated as regular laborer's- with meagre wages and high working hours. Our Khadi and Handlooms which after severely being hit by colonization lost all their patronization, is still struggling to survive and cope up with the machine driven competitive markets, despite of producing invaluable pieces these products barely get the recognition they deserve.

This is where the scary part actually comes, for art to sustain itself it needs to be carried forward, if these communities can barely profit off their art and hard work they will eventually shift to other means that would provide for them and that would lead to centuries of art, culture, heritage slowly decaying right in front of us, while we sit here in midst of globalization consuming products from all over the world (I see absolutely nothing wrong in that) but we as consumers need to find a balance, or the Government alone cannot fix this. We have to save our artists; we have to save our art.

Put your mind to it, and you can change it. Yes even as Students we can make a huge difference just by small steps like promoting the Khadi and Indian Textile industry, buying pieces from them( and incorporating it in our daily life), saying yes to sustainable fashion( which again is VERY important for the environment so hey a win-win), visiting local art galleries, signing petitions to build more art galleries which would promote local artists and their work, make projects and presentations on the necessity to save our art, have more writing drives, educate ourselves on the history of various Indian artists and learn about their works and contribution to the field.

Appreciating art isn’t enough, we need to help it survive and work for it to pass over to coming generations. And like I said before We have to save our artists, We have to save our art.