Turmoil & Appetite for Arts
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 06 2015 -
When one talks of a stable and complex civilisational order, it is easier to mentally construct a socio-political structure which is conducive to the birth of creative ideas that reflects the same.
This does not mean that the best of art productions are incubated and hatched only in times of political peace and stability.
For the last few decades, political analysts have rather been intimidated if not intrigued by Manipur’s socio-political fate.
The everydayness of violence and bloodshed has left its indentation on the individual mind. This has however, not been able to stop anyone from executing creative endeavour.
Roy Shaw, a former British Secretary-General of the Arts Council in his book “The Arts and the People” (1987) argues that the glories of the Renaissance were “produced not because of, but in spite of” bloodshed, social and political turmoil.
He goes on to put forth his view that art can flourish and made widely accessible to people in a working modern democracy supported by institutions.
Taking the example of Britain, Shaw also argues that there are state policies which threaten the quality of “cultural life”.
Any perspicacious citizen would not disagree with Shaw’s contention notwithstanding his another belief that there are aspects to intellectual climate, quite distinct from “state policies” that may be hostile to producing excellence in arts and culture.
Now, how does one make sense of the passion and appetite for arts in Manipur? Is there any other way of understanding the phenomenon?
Do our great writers, playwrights, directors, theatre personalities and dancers possess common latent elements which are capable of leading into the production of a distinctive unified artistic civilization?
Taking a cursory look at the qualitative contents of works of performing arts in Manipur, it can be well argued that most literary and cultural products are churned out of the lived-world experience of the people.
Moreover, there definitely is a latent connection that links the works of our great theatre personalities like Ratan Thiyam and Heisnam Kanhailal whose seminal works are celebrated worldwide.
Whether or not, the great creative minds have survived due to the benign patronage of the central or state governments, is a question that needs to be analysed and answered.
However, one has to understand that it is not just the quintessential spirit of the individual which is manifest in their works but also the fount of all their creative expressions which is deeply rooted in the same social, economic and political conditions in a given locale.
In an amorphous socio-political structure, can their sensibilities outgrow the decadent politics so widely prevalent?
Well, beyond the functional role of artistic compendia or creative cultural products, we are still trying to find an answer.
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