Renaissance and Reformation of Art

To present a perspective of Indian art through several centuries calls as much for a sense of history that grasps the continuity of the trends of artistic thought and their development. Our country, in spite of the destruction and mutilation wrought by invaders, is still rich in the vestiges of the highly cultured life which our ancients lived. These vestiges are of course scattered in different places in and around India, and are awaiting recognition. There is no corner in this sub-continent of ours which does not possess delightful reminders of the great ideas which our ancients thought and lived and concretized in art-forms of architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance and literature. They are all alike in possessing the fundamentals of our art-heritage.

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan has defined the nature, the function and the scope of art in this way: “In the present context of misery, pain and sordidness of everyday life in our country, art has a supreme and sublime function. It is art that can make up for all that is wanting in life. It is art again that can elevate the soul and soothe it. Art is not a clinical report of crude, low or lived passions, nor, is it mere intellectual gymnastics or cerebral subtleties. True art is that which stirs the soul and lifts one above the senses and the intellect, and which makes you feel one with all humanity. If therefore we have to heal the wounds from which this country is suffering, we have to treat not merely the body, but the mind also.

To enhance the scope and the intrinsic value of art, concrete steps should be taken to include the subject of art in the school curriculum. No scheme of modern education put into operation so far has taken into account our national character and our genuine requirements, mundane and supra-mundane, and our rich spiritual heritage. Can we find a better depiction of the wonder of the universe than the one symbolised by the lotus infinitely unfolding its petals one after the other to yogic vision in the hands of the all-graceful, eternally youthful Tribhanga of the painting of Padmapani at Ajanta? Can there be a better suggestion and portrayal of the highest kinetic energy controlled with a sublime restraint than Nataraja of the South and Gajasuradamana of Elephahta? Can smiles of tenderness and benevolence from out of ghastly countenance be delineated more impressively than in Mother Kali? Can any biography of Buddha be more emotively expressed or more artistically rendered than in the strokes of the chisel at Sanchi and Amaravati? Can one imagine heavens more heavenly than those found in the sculpture of Somanathapuram or Halebid or Belur? We have heaps and heaps of such glorious things in India waiting to inspire votaries to elevate themselves. It is a sad thing that we do not avail ourselves of their benediction. Instead we cloister our boys and girls within dead walls of plaster, and direct them to imbibe rhythm and grace, tint and tone, from model cubes, cylinders, cones, pyramids, etc. How could rhythm be taught or explained unless one experiences it in one’s own life and conduct?

The first and foremost thing to do is to form an All-India Board of proficient persons conversant with our distinct cultural heritage, and familiar with our art-sources, and versed in our chosen ancient texts and to formulate measures for the correct translation of the great literary works on art and its expression into various languages. This Central Board should consist of the Ministers of Education, the Directors of Education, scholars who have made a special study of Indian art, cultured and experienced practising artists in our country. Provincial Boards consisting of similar persons may also be formed to safeguard, preserve and propagate the local indigenous art-forms.

The art schools must be manned by scholars who have studied Indian history in detail and by persons who are technically proficient in art who will be able to take the students through the theory and practice of the arts of sculpture, painting, dance, etc., as also of the applied arts, in the languages obtaining in the localities. Libraries containing books relating to the various branches of the fine arts together with small and relevant and representative museums should invariably be annexed to the art-centres imparting art education. There must be periodical excursions to places contain­ing art treasures and lectures by experts on art subjects must be arranged from time to time. Plenty of scope must be provided for the exercise and display of native pupil-talent. Seminars conducted by duly qualified persons who can demonstrate with conviction the high qualities of art and artistic creations must be arranged at different centres and these will go a long way in inculcating the correct and proper taste in the judgment of art-creations. A Board of Research should also come into existence and strive to discover indigenous art-forms and also the means adopted by them for the safe preserva­tion of works of art. Steady research will help the proper renovation of many inherited art products which may have decayed on account of time. A comprehensive renovation of the paintings of Ajanta, Bagh, Sittannavasal and Lepakshi is urgently called for. An authentic history of the national arts has also to be written. The teachers of art must possess a comprehensive knowledge of arts other than the Indian and of schools of artists other than their own, in order to help their students grow to required shape and form and skill. A special committee of connoisseurs must write out critical biographies of our artists, ancient and modern, both of those who have achieved fame and name and those who have deserved but have not secured recognition. Further all encouragement in the form of maintenance allowances must be given to deserving artists and artisans, and they must be made to feel that they are very useful limbs of the society and matter vitality to national prosperity and enrichment.

Our greatest need today is a galaxy of Gurus and Acharyas fully conversant with our ancient lore and passionately eager to impart the culture which beams out of the sculpture at Sarnath and Sanchi, Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati, Konarka and Udayagiri, Elephanta, and Ajanta and Ellora, Halebid and Belur and Sravanabelogola, Badami and Aihole, Hampi and Lepakshi and Tadpatri, to mention a few. For in no other visible art can we so easily realise the tangible form of the beauty of rhythm, which is the foundation for all fine arts and for a life of harmony. The Art of Dance as comprehensively laid down by Bharatamuni is a blend of nritya, gita and vadya; any dance proper includes abhinaya or acting, music and instrumental accompaniments. So different arts are but different aspects of one and the same thing, namely, the expression of harmony in one’s own or in other’s life. Like all kalas, the fine arts also are meant for both temporal and spiritual upliftment, and the artists are essentially sadhakas to find redemption and reach emancipation.