En Route to a New Culture

The myriad cultures of Indian society are a fact that makes it stand out in the world. Over thirty

dance forms and another long list of musical legacy along with the percussions and strings to

bring out the truest soul of Indian tradition. Dance and music were not far away from any

Indians’ life. From weddings to concerts, showcasing the essence of Indian culture has been our

tradition. As generations passed by the meaning of culture also tainted. The basis of the art forms

shifted to the mere pleasure of contesting. Competitions started occupying a major part in our

lives and the aim of those competitions shifted from gaining experience to barely winning

medals and trophies.

Art has always been the best teacher of values.Things were much simpler in olden times. Art was

considered as a God-given gift. It was encouraged even to the extent that people chose art as a

profession not only to earn money or win competitions but also to spread the joy of performing

them. As education system transformed into a more formal structure, co-curricular activities

were introduced into the system for encouraging the talents of students. But as time went by

these competitions were turned into battlefields. Ironically here the warriors were not students

but parents and school authorities.

The government started cultural festivals in school and college levels for encouraging young

talent and to cultivate social values such as teamwork, empathy, and mutual understanding along

with healthy competition. But sadly, these purposes are missing in today’s competitions.

Nowadays costly costume and heavy makeup are the main judgment criteria. Corruption is

prevalent with parents and school authorities bribing judges for medals. Appeals overflow in

courts for attaining the first position. The main victims of this ruckus are the morality of

students. Each artist has a different style and as long as the basic rules are followed no artist can

be proved wrong. In trying to develop good qualities in students, these competitions have ended

up setting the wrong examples altogether.

The change in nature of competitions was due to the changed attitudes of parents and teachers

towards them. Parents want to showcase their children as the best and schools want their students

to bring laurels to their schools. “Mata Pita Guru Daivam” a famous quote in Sanskrit which

explains the importance of a guru in a students’ life is also mocked here. Gaining popularity is

the main aim of parents and gurus. But the excessive pressure put on students has destroyed the

true spirit of competition. Again the quality and purity are compromised. The entertainment

industry has benefited from this whole competition fever among parents. Children are used for

increasing the TRP ratings under the name of entertainment. Recently in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l

Champs, a famous music reality show on Zee TV had a kid of five-year-old as the contestant,

who was kept in the show only for the entertainment quotient.

Let alone the competition fever, a different perspective to this issue shows the struggle of artists

in earlier times. Before the advent of British to our nation, art was one of the most respected and

paid profession. But after the colonization of India, kings, who were the major patrons of art lost

their power. Hence the field of art started to deplete. The history of devadasi system turning into

a class promoting immoral activity is an example to this depletion of art. Many artists like

Rukmini Devi Arundale, tried reviving the art forms to bring back its glory in the early 1930s.

Several changes were made in all art forms. The strict nature was liberalized to attract more

people to it. These compromises were made for two reasons. The attitude of people towards art

has been degraded by the time of independence and people were not wealthy enough to afford

the time and money to become artists. The condition of artists has also been shattered by the

time.

Liberalising rules and regulations in art helped create employment for them by attracting a

larger mass towards it. Over the time people started taking advantage of these changes and purity

of art forms vanished. Nowadays people teach Indian classical dances which are bent for the

easiness for students. These can be learned in a short span of time and they are showcased in

competitions. The tough strict discipline of classical dance makes it difficult to learn and hence

people settle for the less difficult ones. The end result is the loss of purity and quality of art

forms.

Learning has become competition centric. Students lack in-depth knowledge of subjects which is

very important in case of performing arts. Certain strictness needs to be brought back.

Liberalizing of rules has to lead to degradation of quality. Fierce competition spirit among the

people has destroyed the joy of performances. It has turned the tables from teaching students not

just an art but also certain qualities to where people fight for just the purpose of winning. The

high level of pressure on students has led to the exploitation of good talent. Culture needs to be

spread, but in a way that its true essence is preserved.