The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

on record
‘Can’t there be a joke in art?’
Vandana Shukla talks to Manjunath Kamath Contemporary artist

Forty-year-old Manjunath Kamath, one of the most relevant signatures in Indian contemporary art, has been to renowned art colleges, on foreign fellowships, triennials and biennales, and has exhibited works globally. But, the introduction to his art is not a seven-page CV. Nor does his ‘visual vocabulary’ rest on the crutches of a well-drafted catalogue written in clichéd art jargon. The semantics of his art is the smile that it brings on the viewer’s face.

His art introduces a ‘lightness of being’, rich humour and welcomes the viewer to a visual world that is playful yet hard hitting.

Kamath has not only given a quintessential Indian identity to contemporary art that suffered from its European hangover for long, he has also liberated it from its staid seriousness.

How did your penchant for fantasy and the absurd survive despite our unimaginative education system?

They try to put you in a block even in art colleges. They produce a certain kind of product that can fit a certain demand. Fortunately, I grew up in Mangalore, and the temples were my art school. The mythical figures, frescos and their fantastic world fed my imagination. At the Mysore art college, though I was a student of sculpture, my teachers let me learn all forms of art. I did not limit myself to any form or medium.

You worked as art illustrator for The Economic Times. Many talents die for the security of a job, how could you take the plunge?

After five years with ET, I felt my life had become too secure, routine. I didn’t work for three years. All artists think going to a foreign university makes them ‘real’ artists. So I got a Residency at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, followed by a Charles Wallace Scholarship. In the UK, I visited museums and saw Indian miniature art. I was struck by its perspective and scale. This was India’s great contribution to art. It changed me.

Your paintings have titles like ‘Cupid on Stupid’, ‘No Logic Please’, ‘Man who Referred to 100 Books in his Talks’, ‘Vomiting Philosopher’, etc.

Titles are an inner element in my works. I think of the title first and then paint; they open the entry point for my paintings. They are very simple and they come from my day-to-day experiences. Once I was talking to an artist friend who kept quoting different authors on art, I wondered why he couldn’t talk of his own experience of art. The artist creates a kind of art which needs to be explained by someone else, in 10 pages.

How did galleries take your works which are so full of humour?

I think the best compliment I receive for my art is seeing a smile on a face. People come to me and say how much they ‘enjoyed’ seeing art. Art is not supposed to be a cerebral teaser. Why can’t there be a joke in art? At the end of the day, everybody wants humour. And, even galleries had to relent.

You are also a brilliant cartoonist. What do you think is the future of this art under the present circumstances?

We are drawing barriers everywhere, even in the minds of the children. If they don’t grow with a sense of humour, how will they learn to laugh at themselves? We need to correct so many hypocrisies, it’s time we stop telling lies about ourselves, and what better way to tell the truth except the humorous way? Fear is growing bigger than humour.

Can an artist articulate the contemporary without making use of the new technologies?

Technologies are new mediums; I use different mediums, so yes I take advantage of technology. I made the animated sketches using ‘Flash’, I create imaginary situations as in the fables and parables, through claymation models. They create one kind of narrative. I don’t narrate tales as I used to, now I want the viewer to find his/her tale, I leave it open.

One is also struck by the brilliant colours you use.

Yes, using gold and florescent colours was looked down upon by our European art mindset; these colours were treated as decorative. I don’t feel art becomes less sacrosanct by using decoration. Look at our miniatures and their rich colours.

Tell us something about your ‘medicinal’ drawings?

I keep drawing all the time, no paper before me remains free of drawing. During the boom period of art, I realised people and friends began picking those papers for their future worth. It tickled me. So I started drawing prescriptive drawings, according to people’s problems and temperament, so that they make use of the drawing not only for its worth in money. Art is not acquisition.

You keep breaking all the prescribed rules in the book of art.

The problem is, even experimental art has become a genre, if it is experimental, why fix a tag?

profile
India’s ambassador for Urdu
Harihar Swarup writes about Dr Gopi Chand Narang Urdu scholar

Amid reports of persecution of Hindus in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari honoured noted Indian scholar Dr Gopi Chand Narang with Sitara-i-Imtiaz (star of excellence), the country’s third highest award on Pakistan’s Independence Day. The rare honour surprised Narang, a versatile Urdu scholar. Narang, who was in the US, remarked: “I am surprised that an Indian was selected for the honour.”

Narang has worked selflessly for the promotion of Urdu in the subcontinent and is happy that his work is recognised in Pakistan. In the past, former Prime Minister Morarji Desai and matinee idol Dilip Kumar have been bestowed with the honour.

Though 81-year-old Narang is an Indian, he was born and brought up at Dukki in the dry, mountainous terrain of Balluchistan and his mother tongue was Saraiki, a blend of western Punjabi, Sindhi and Pushto.

In school, Pushto was the medium of teaching and it was only when he went to a college in Delhi that his romance with Urdu began. His fame as an “Urdu prodigy” spread, and in Pakistan, he has come to be known as India’s cultural ambassador. He is the only Urdu critic from India who is frequently interviewed by the Pakistan TV. He was also awarded a national gold medal (Pakistan) for his research on Iqbal. He has always raised his voice against parochialism, religious fanaticism and social injustice.

Narang’s wife teaches Hindi and one of his sons is on his way to becoming a Sanskrit scholar. Narang says a writer’s basic commitment is to the sanctity of shabda (word), concern for humanitarianism and sense of nationalism. He admits that ideology may be a source of inspiration, but literature goes beyond its narrow confines. He is also keen on compiling an encyclopaedia of Indian katha sahitya, besides an encyclopaedia of Indian poets. Bangla intellectual Sisir Kumar Das is working on it. Narang has also nearly finished a project on National Bibilography of Indian Literature from 1954 to date.

Urdu, says Narang, has been the language of inter-faith harmony and has served as a bridge between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims right from Ameer Khusro in the 13th century to Munshi Prem Chand, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. He feels that politicisation of Urdu has resulted in its downfall as the Urdu card is often played by politicians to serve their vested interests.

“Urdu is not the language of Muslims,” insists Narang. “If at all there is any language of Muslims, it should be Arabic. Urdu belongs to the composite culture of India,” he says.

Interacting with Ahmed Faraz, a Pakistani poet, Narang once said: “Do not monopolise and politicise a language. Urdu is one of the national languages of India and not a natural language of even a single region of Pakistan from Karachi to Lahore and from Quetta to Peshwar. The litterateurs of the two countries must interact with one another.”

“The remedy lies in according equal linguistic and educational rights to Urdu in India and creating awareness in Pakistan that Urdu belongs to both countries. Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language by origin. It is part of a common heritage and cannot be monopolised,” he says.

good news
She turned her grief into hope for others
by Shubhadeep Choudhury

Kavitha was 32 years old when her husband Belliyappa died in an accident in Arunachal Pradesh. He was only 41. Though a soldier, he did not fall to enemy’s bullet. He was a subedar in the Army Medical Corps (AMC) and there was little chance of him getting involved in a firefight. An unpredictable river in the border state claimed his life.

Belliyappa was posted in Tenga Valley in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh near the Indo-China border. He was going to Guwahati to collect the salary of his unit when there was a flash flood in one of the rivers his vehicle was crossing and the improvised bridge gave way before the torrents of gushing waters. The debris of the bridge was found 13 km away from where it originally existed and the bodies of Belliyappa and the driver were found nearby.

Starved of sleep, Kavitha has dark circles. “More than anything else, it is the loneliness which is killing,” she says as she fights her tears.

But her eyes light up when she talks about a camp organised for wives and children of soldiers who died in the line of duty. The camp, held on the outskirts of Bangalore, was a two-day event with the participation of 45 members of 15 families. “It was nice. I did not feel like returning,” she says.

The camp was organised by Subhashini Vasanth, whose husband V Vasanth, a dashing Colonel with the Maratha Light Infantry, died fighting militants in the Uri sector of J&K in 2007. He was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, the highest military decoration given in peacetime. Subhashini was 35 years old.

Subhashini receives the Ashok Chakra from then President Pratibha Patil on behalf of her husband who died fighting militants.

Army martyrs’ children at a camp organised by Subhashini Vasanth.

Forever Forty, a biography of her husband written by Subhashini, was launched by former Army Chief JJ Singh last year. Subhashini also floated Vasantharatna Foundation for Art in his memory. The objective is to empower martyrs’ wives to earn a dignified livelihood and to educate their children.

Subhashini and her husband had thought about ways to create awareness among the public about Army families. They also worked to put together a play to highlight the strength of “fauji” women. The play was ready to be staged when fate struck a cruel blow and Colonel Vasanth made the supreme sacrifice for the nation.

Despite her loss, she went ahead with the play, The Silent Front, which was premiered in New Delhi on September 20, 2007, to mark the Army Wives Welfare Association Day. Defence Minister AK Antony and his wife were the chief guests.

The Vasantharatna Foundation also runs a scholarship programme for martyred soldiers’ children. Under the scheme, a fixed deposit of Rs 30,000 is made in the name of a child with a lien marked in favour of the foundation. This helps ensure that the funds are not misused. At the end of each year, the interest is sent directly from the bank to the child’s school towards fee.

Upon attaining the age of 18 years, the initial amount of Rs 30,000 is given to the child. Funds are being raised by organising cultural programmes and through donations. Fifty children are benefiting from the scheme. The foundation also plans to help these children find employment. Kavitha is one of the beneficiaries. After her husband’s death, she was left alone to fend for her two boys. “I could not join my husband as he was posted in Arunachal Pradesh and we stayed back in Bangalore,” she says.

After his death, Kavitha’s sister coaxed her to remain in Bangalore. A graduate, Kavitha worked in small private companies, but was left with no time for her children. So, she decided to manage her expenses with her husband’s pension of Rs 15,000. Both her sons are recipients of the scholarship.

Regina Mary is another such beneficiary. Her husband Hruday Raj was a jawan in the Armoured Corps and died of a cardiac arrest in 2004. Regina was 29 years old. Since Hruday Raj was not a battle casualty, Regina gets a paltry pension of Rs 5,500. She works as a receptionist in a private company so that she can better look after the needs of her nine-year-old son Ronaldo, who has also got a scholarship.

Regina is grateful to the foundation for meetings it organises for Army widows on Independence Day, Republic Day and Flag Day. “I can express my feelings when I meet others like me,” she says.

Children of officers have been kept out of the ambit of the scheme since they are better placed.

off the cuff

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Chief minister Our government works for the poor. We are not going to abolish land ceiling. Many people want us to repeal it. Else they will oppose us. We swear by the people.

Mamata Banerjee, west bengal chief minister
On annulment of land ceiling

Priyanka Chopra, Actor I’ve never felt the need for it. People had a lot of issues since I was dusky and not a conventional looking actress. But I still got opportunities. I love myself the way I am.

Priyanka Chopra, actor
On enhancement surgery

Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime minister Hazaaron jawaabon se acchi hai hai meri khamoshi, na jaane kitne sawaalon ki aabroo rakhi (my silence is better than a thousand answers, it keeps intact the honour of innumerable questions)

Dr Manmohan Singh, prime minister
Rejecting CAG report on coal in Parliament

Sandeep Sharma, Cricketer I am proud to be a farmer’s son. I don’t feel any shame in that. My parents don’t even know LBW, swing, off side or on side but I’m proud of them. I am here because of them.

Sandeep Sharma, cricketer
After winning the U-19 World Cup final

SH Kapadia, Chief Justice of India Judges should not govern this country. We are not accountable to people. Objectivity and certainty enshrined in the basic principles of the Constitution have to be given weightage.

SH Kapadia, chief justice of india
During a lecture on jurisprudence