"Hamara Paisa, Hamara Hisaab." This phrase, infused with the collective energy of the masses on the fringes, was one of the many cornerstones that came to encapsulate the Right to Information Act. Empowering the common man/woman with an over riding fundamental right to seek the information that affects him/her, RTI has in last one year of its existence, proven to be a path breaking instrument in democratizing the process of dissemination of information- the mantra being, " What cannot be denied to the Parliament cannot be denied to its people".
Understandably so, contextualising RTI in the realm of ever so disorganized performing arts sector is bound to produce an interesting debate. Seher's monthly interface, Rasik: Meet the Artiste, devoted its latest edition to this very issue. With a panel comprising, Aruna Roy (the Ramon Magsaysay awardee and one of the brains behind the event), Girish Karnad ( film maker, actor and playwright) , and Leela Samson ( Noted Bharatanatyam dancer and Director of Kalakshetra dance foundation, Chennai), and moderated by Ashok Vajpeyi ( Poet and former secretary, Culture ) the debate on RTI in the rose garden of IIC packed much punch about what RTI was all about.
Though, one may add in same breath that only a simplistic view of the connection between RTI and the artiste community could be unraveled with an ostensibly apolitical creative audience (but for few dissenting voices) calling out desperately for unity among itself, without really addressing the issues that divide it.
Aruna Roy, time and again, addressed a need for collectivism, and while an intelligent interjection pointed to the need to examine if masses are always right, the message was loud and clear, that artistes have to trudge the common ground, that there has to be an inherent empathy for the wronged artiste and that such a scenario can only bring a change. ( The massive public reaction to the death of Safdar Hashmi being a case in point)
Girish Karnad, whose incisive comments on the symbiotic relationship between Knowledge and Power echoed Foucault's take on the economy of discourse and the utter notion that knowledge ( keeping of information- in this case- a civil servant from a common man) turns into power, in the context of "other" ( a person at a weaker position) during its transfer, referred to the struggle of film maker Anand Patwardhan whose award winning film "Father , Son and Holy Ghost" was not shown by DD for 11 years. If such a thing was to happen today, invoking RTI will circumvent any such move by the concerned babus.
Leela Samson's take on the issue, was perhaps most eagerly sought, given her personal standing as a dancer and now her experience as part of the establishment. What struck this writer most was Leela's optimism which understandably stemmed from the fact that she had been treated with "kid gloves" by the government.
However, perhaps the danger zones of RTI vis-à-vis the arts were never touched. Its ramifications on the lives of certain prima donnas, who are not only misusing but abusing the subsidies and facilities provided to them by the Government, be it in form of accommodations or sponsored tours abroad, underpinning the ineffectiveness of various government clauses, were not addressed. Perhaps, it would be amateurish to blame the panel. The real camouflaging of the situation occurred during the Q and A, where someone was heard saying, " RTI seeks people to be aggressive and if artistes become aggressive, their art dies." Unbelievably so, when one hears endless stories of artistes indulging in corporate politics and worse.
The trouble with artiste community perhaps lies in its inability to accept that a lot of misdoings have taken place because of wrongful patronage of various kinds that have been afforded to most, from time to time- be it grants or awards. RTI may stem that to some extent. But then, truth can live for another day.
No comments:
Post a Comment