(Bal Thackeray)
Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray is dead. The family feud is
yet to start. Mumbai behaved for the first time. Impending riots are perhaps
under suspension or it is so till activation orders come from Udhav or Raaj. I am not
concerned about who would inherit the real Thackeray legacy. But I am concerned
about the cultural scenario of this country. It is ironical that while the
bigwigs of Bollywood express their shock at the news of Thackeray’s death, and
the political leaders, at least for the sake of expressing their grief, do so, only
the visual artists (fine artists who do painting, sculpture and related art
forms) seem to be divided in their opinion on the death of Thackeray. While a
majority of the ‘Marathi’ artists express their grief on the death of
Thackeray, another majority of ‘intellectual’ artists (that include some
Marathi artists as well as art activists also) show their ‘disapproval’ to such
open expression of grief and they insist that they are all happy for the death
of this man.
I am not a person who is illusioned, enamoured and
charmed by the political influence or the king maker image of late Bal
Thackeray. Like any other socio-politically and culturally inclined thinking
Indian, I too have certain opinion and observations about his political career. First
of all I don’t feel any bad if an 86 years old man passes away ‘naturally’. I
wouldn’t have felt that bad had M.F.Husain been declared dead when he was in
Mumbai. If at all anybody draws a parallel between M.F.Husain and Thackeray, I
would say M.F.Husain’s death is mourned in a big way because we all were acting
out a collective guilt; we could not do anything to bring M.F.Husain back to
India from his royal exile in the Middle East. We could not persuade a secular
government to do anything to curb the right wing fundamentalists of this
country (remember only of this country because though Hindu sects have a global
presence, the fundamentalism is a home-made product to be used within its never
ending expiry date). We could not do anything to bring M.F.Husain back to this
country (though we generally lobbied, protested and video conference-d in Delhi
on his birthday, as an annual ritual). So when he died in exile, we mourned like
the guilt ridden sons and daughters of a benevolent father.
(M.F.Husain)
What’ wrong if the Marathis in general and Marathi artists
in particular mourn the death of Thackeray, especially when they are performing
a collective guilt ritual as they do it? Now let me tell you a historical
parallel with these deaths; the death of Adolf Hitler. It is observed that no
German who claims to have originated from the real Aryan Roots, would prefer to
talk disparagingly about Hitler even today in Germany. A level headed German
may be against all what had been done by Hitler but he just does not want to
talk about Hitler today. Theoretically speaking (as Stuart Hall and Paul Gilroy
have observed), the Germans, live in a sense of guilt; a guilt, which is
perhaps Oedipal in nature. They killed their father or when he was ‘killed’
they had to keep silence as ‘level headed’ people. Similarly, the collective
guilt of Marathi artists is very much palpable in their utterances especially
when they mourn the death of Bal Thackeray.
Now let me probe into the reasons why this mourning is guilt
ridden and if at all it is guilt ridden it is still permissible in a
socio-economic and politico-cultural debate and discourse. It is guilt ridden
mainly because each Marathi artist who lives in Mumbai knows for sure that Bal
Thackeray or his Sainiks have never done anything for the promotion of fine
arts. Though Mumbai is known for its J.J.School of Arts and Jehangir Art
Gallery and many cash rich private galleries, nowhere you would see the
Thackeray school of thoughts promoting fine arts. You may even draw a parallel
between Thackeray and Hitler because both of them were artists in their own
rights and great orators who could move people to frenzy. Though there is/was a
Bombay Art Society it has always been handled by the social elites within the
Marathi community, to which the local Marathi artists were denied entry or
presence. It has been the case till people like Rajendra Patil started taking
interest in it (but unfortunately one would eventually yield to the elitism).
(Adolf Hitler)
Hence, the Marathi artist always had this grudge against
Thackeray for not doing anything for them while he claimed to be the leader of
a movement that brought back pride and dignity to the Marathi people in
general. So they always loved and hated Thackeray simultaneously. When the
moment of his death arrived they knew that it heralded the death of their
father who had not done much for them though he had brought a dignity and pride
to their voices. Here I should say that my observations are only based on the
Marathi artists not on the Marathi people in general. When the Marathi artists
express their grief on the death of Thackeray they feel a double guilt because
they have always been critiquing the same person on intellectual and political
grounds (placing reason over passion), and at the same time the realization
that the other group for which they have always voiced support has not
brought any good for them.
Let us take the example of the art scene of Mumbai during
the last twenty years. If anybody asks to name ten to twenty famous artists
promoted and supported by the galleries and press, we would come to know how
this guilt works in the minds of the Marathi artists: Jehangir Sabawala
(Parsi-Mumbaite), Sudhir Patwardhan (Marathi), Atul Dodiya (Gujarati-Mumbaite),
Prabhakar Kolte (Marathi-Mumbaikar), Jitish Kallat (Malayali-Mumbaite), Baiju
Parthan (Malayali-Mumbaite), Bose Krishnamachari
(Malayali-Mumbaite),T.V.Santhosh (Malayali-Mumbaite), Riyas Komu
(Malayali-Mumbaite), Chintan Upadhyay (Rajasthani-Mumbaite), Sunil Gawde
(Marathi-Mumbaite), Anand Joshi (Marathi-Mumbaite), Yashwant Deshmukh
(Marathi-Marathi Manus).
(Sudhir Patwardhan)
Just look at the proportion of visibility and support that
these artists get within Mumbai. I am aware of the fact that Mumabi is not
Maharashtra. Nagpur, Pune, Kolhapur, Nasik and so on also produce artists. But
you look at the list of artists who actually get support from the galleries or
other socio-economic agencies? And now look at the complexion of the India Art
Festival. There are no Mumbai galleries (rich, powerful, intellectual and
secular) that are supporting this festival. And look at the number of artists.
They are all from different regions of Maharashtra. If you ask why there is a
Marathi pride amongst the artists, you will find the answer in these
indications itself. If these artists feel that the cash rich galleries run by
non-Marathi interest do not support Marathi artists from within Mumbai, is that
a problem? If they mourn the death of their father figure, wil it be an
anti-secular issue?
Now let me come to another vital point. One might argue that
Mumbai is a metro and it is the business capital of India and it need not
necessarily be representing the ‘limited’ aspirations and feelings of the
Marathi community. For the sake of argument it is right. Any metro is a city
within a city. It has a different rule for its articulation. While being a part
of a larger state with an administrative system in place, such metros function
in a different mode without identifying itself with the larger parameters that
define the socio-cultural complexion of the land where it is located. To put it
differently, a metro does not express the aspiration of the people who belong
to the metro. Instead, any metro is a dream of the migrant. Migrants make the
metros possible and in the process of its metro-fication, the migrants as well
as the natives get pushed out of the borders. The vacant spaces created thus
will be occupied by varied economic interests to which the political interests
of the larger scenario would also join in different stages of its inception,
growth and final formation. Hence, Mumbai need not necessarily be expressing
the aspirations of the Marathi artists, who are often mocked at as ‘Marathi
Manoos’ in the glittering exhibition openings.
(Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai)
But let us take the same case scenario elsewhere. Let us go
to Kochi, which is also a metro city though not in the same line of Mumbai. If
tomorrow the Kochi art scene is captured by the interests from outside, and
Malayali artists are called ‘Malayali Manoos’ will any Malayali artist or the
general public there approve that? I do not think so. There cannot be too many
Karmakars, Kulkarnis, Mores, Patils, Dhotres, Deshmukhs and so on ruling the
Kochi art scene. I don’t see that such a scenario will be tolerated by the
Malayalis. I remember working with a senior artist friend in Goa. He invited me
to start a contemporary art museum in Goa with the help of the Goa Government.
In no time, despite my sincere efforts, my presence was questioned and in its
place a few native ‘Goan’ names were brought. I had analysed that situation without
much frustration. I realized that a Malayali curator ruling over a Goan Museum
could not be that palatable to a Goan, even if they are all my friends.
I am not here to promote parochialism and social rupture in
the line of regionalism. I am looking at this scenario with a sense of realism.
Even if we talk about pan-Indian identities and pan-national ideologies, I
cannot think that a typical Haryanvi Jat would ever allow me to hold a powerful
position in a local body unless I belong to the Police Department or the
Administrative service. Let us be very realistic. Those artists who support Bal
Thackeray on certain political-social lines, do that because they have to do it
as there are no other alternatives. And no Sainik has ever asked the Malayali
or Bengali artists to go out of Mumbai only because that they belong to another
state. My argument on Narendra Modi was also the same when the Chandramohan
incident happened in 2007. No artist (non-Gujarati artist) was tortured or hunted
down by the Modi government only because they voiced against the right wing
fundamentalism of the state. Marathi artists are not militant, had they been
really, there would not have been many private galleries in Mumbai.
3 comments:
A very sensitive issue laid out in an honest and impartial manner. I bet this is going to start a string of self-introspection, starting from myself... which is by all means necessary!
nice piece of information, I had come to know about your internet site from my friend vinay, delhi,i have read atleast 12 posts of yours by now, and let me tell you, your website gives the best and the most interesting information. This is just the kind of information that i had been looking for, i'm already your rss reader now and i would regularly watch out for the new post, once again hats off to you! Thanx a ton once again, Regards, Bal Thackeray Quotes
good piece of information, I had come to know about your site from my friend sajid, bangalore,i have read atleast 11 posts of yours by now, and let me tell you, your web-page gives the best and the most interesting information. This is just the kind of information that i had been looking for, i'm already your rss reader now and i would regularly watch out for the new post, once again hats off to you! Thanks a lot once again, Regards, Bal Thackeray
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