The Mind Creative
At times, abstract art reminds me about organized religion where
the abstract artist is the high priest; preaching and practicing
doctrines based on an end product that you cannot understand
or see. And at times, if you are lucky, even make money out of
all the confusion. Perfect!
But why blame the fine arts alone? Having spent a life time with
various art forms, I dare say that the blurring between fact and
fad is equally prevalent in other quarters. This was particularly
underlined when I came across a friend at a social gathering.
He bore down on me like a homing pigeon and said, “Hey! I did
not see you last night at the Ravi Shankar concert!”
“I had a project to finish,” I lied. I was very much there buried
in the cheaper seats at the far end of the venue.
“What an amazing concert!” he continued. “Magnificent. His
handling of the guitar was like a dream.”
“Sitar,” I said cautiously. “Ravi Shankar plays the sitar.”
“Does he now?” he said, “I thought he coached George Harrison.”
“He did,” I said. “Harrison learnt the nuances of the sitar under
him.”
His eyes had clouded over by now.
“Hmmm… No wonder I thought that the guitar looked a little
large! By the way, have you tasted one of the lemon pies?” he
asked, pointing at the table laid out with the calories.
By then, I had lost my appetite.
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