“Art is not a luxury of the well-to-do. The poor man needs it as much in his cottage-building, his pots, his floor decorations his clay-deities and in many other ways.” Says Rabindranath Tagore, in his message to the village Industries’ Association.
Fostering Indian Arts
The Poet expressed to Dr. J. C. Kumarappa, his fervent wish that Gandhiji should, while concentrating his attention in forming a craft’s museum, should also interest himself in founding an Indian arts Museum, to meet the danger of indigenous arts, being lost to the nation, through neglect and perverted lasts, due to opening Western fashions.
SANTINIKETAN. Mahatma Gandhi has secured the services of Sjt. Surendranath Kar of the Viswabharati Kala Bhavan in connection with the design of the All-India Village Industries’ Museum, proposed to be founded at Wardha.
Sjt. J. C. Kumarappa, Secretary, All-India Village Industries’ Association, recently came here to seek Dr. Rabindranath’s advice in this connection. In the course of an interview between Sjt. Kumarappa and Dr. Rabindranath Tagore, the former was given the following message to be conveyed to Mahatmaji:
“I appeal to Mahatmaji, since he is endeavouring to found a Museum for the nation not to limit it to crafts as crafts. Crafts have been the media of artists in all ages, and our artists, as printers, as architects, as decorators, have helped our folks to get increased and finer satisfaction out of the same material. The economic life of a nation is not such an isolated fact as Mahatmaji imagines, and to-day, side by side with economic poverty, we are faced with a cultural poverty, which puts us to shame -- shame, that is in no way lessened when we consider what we once were.
{{/usCountry}}“I appeal to Mahatmaji, since he is endeavouring to found a Museum for the nation not to limit it to crafts as crafts. Crafts have been the media of artists in all ages, and our artists, as printers, as architects, as decorators, have helped our folks to get increased and finer satisfaction out of the same material. The economic life of a nation is not such an isolated fact as Mahatmaji imagines, and to-day, side by side with economic poverty, we are faced with a cultural poverty, which puts us to shame -- shame, that is in no way lessened when we consider what we once were.
{{/usCountry}}Pitiable Condition of Indian Arts
“Our art treasures, to-day, are found in museums outside India and our village artists are dying.
Meanwhile the taste of our people is being slowly perverted by foreign fashions, ill-related to our life. Perhaps, one day we will have no art-treasure left and we will have to go visiting museums, in foreign lands, to feel a pride in our past and then in our present.
Not a Luxury
“Please tell Mahatmaji to consider that art is not a luxury of the well-to-do. The poor man needs it as much, and employs it as art in his cottage building, his floor decorations, his clay-toys, and in many other ways. Mahatmaji’ s men go round collecting specimens of village maassries, why may they not also look for and collect specimens of the various indigenous arts, spread all over our land and waiting to be recherished?
Why Not a Museum of Arts?
A section of the Museum may be devoted to it, which will show us how our people have lived and the living, and now in diverse ways, with what material means at their disposal, they have tried to create some ‘rasa’ in their life. I would do it myself, but I know only too well that I do not command the resources, nor the necessary popular confidence that Mahatmaji commands.