An Artist's Date With Great Good

The two great wars of the last century resulted in unimaginable loss of human potential. Apart from the loss of lives, there was global damage to economies, infrastructure, works of art, and budgetary allocations to human welfare. However, it also led to the most unprecedented era of human development in many of the areas we suffered the greatest losses in. It led to the acknowledgment of the vital role of women in modern society. It led to the evolution of global entities like the UN and its various little ones. It led to the awareness that war was not worth it. The fact that war is in the interest of most, if not all, governments and corporations is another matter. The point worth keeping in mind is that the great evil of war led to the emergence of the great good in many areas of human endeavor. This fills me with hope.

Contemporary Indian rock album art. Among the finest bands, this.

There is no denying we are living in times of great moral darkness. Globally and nationally, human welfare has been reduced to just another item on election manifestos, and ethical living is popularly considered to be the refuge of the incompetent. Popular art and culture has almost entirely been hijacked by commercialism, sometimes even in the garb of conscious capitalism. Education has been institutionalized into an industry. The news media is no longer the watchdog of the citizens but panders primarily to the needs of those who garnish their salads. The good news is this widespread degeneration of civilization can only mean one thing � great good is on its way.

I was born long after India became independent, so my knowledge of how India came together as a people to claim independence is entirely from books and from hearing about it. And no, I don�t mean Rushdie and Guha, in case you are nodding your heads. I believe, as a people, we somehow connected to the fire within during those days. In the seven decades since, somehow we have lost that connection, and perhaps the fire itself. The richness of our culture, the depth of our philosophy and the respect for human life that is part of our spiritual identity as a nation, has also been dampened significantly along with that connection and the fire.

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