Art and Life : Independent or Interdependent?

Ahh....This interrogative statement actually got me thinking. And why shouldn't it, with the changing scenario? Up until a few years ago, one could manage to say that it is art that imitates life. But no longer, in the larger scheme of things. Art, today, has indeed become quite impactful. Art holds its own credentials and value, devoid of any dependence. Infact, putting any value on art would be losing its sheen.                                                                          Art has and still is a reflection of our society. No two ways about it. It has only become global, with the homogenisation of world cultures. This fusion has become a culture in itself. A culture containing the pride and glory of its varied representatives. Our acceptance of foreign cultures have opened their doors for us. And we all see its result in the form of tolerance and respect, in diversity. Everything seen in the creative medium as art is a mirror to the society. Be it movies, that showcase social realities in a larger-than-life context and likewise, dance, song, music, literature and something abstract yet real like drawings and paintings, all these forms are inspired from the society and culture. As social animals, we are bound to play to the gallery. Our imagination stretches only within the realm of what is acceptable and what is not. We certainly cease to exist without a reality.                                   Trends, today, are changing and so are people's perspectives. Their perspectives are widening and stretching out in infinite directions; all thanks to the amalgamation of cultures and more importantly, our exposure to them at the various sub-levels. All this has somewhat reversed the pattern of proceedings. Art is being adapted into our existence, maybe partially, at this point in terms of its documentation. And fully, when it comes to actually practicing what we observe without realising the source of our actions.        Progress and growth after a point become predictable. They stimulate our minds to think progressively and strengthen our foresight. This is when art begins to inspire life. To give an example, when a movie like Avatar or a big budget sci-fi film is made, which bears a testimony to the range of human capabilities, we actually start viewing ourselves in a more refined and sophisticated manner. Art has, similarly, put us on a pedestal. Nature, which has been the biggest inspiration of art, has helped life evolve. All we are doing is modifying the nature according to our taste. Life still gets inspired by the art which once, was purely natural and all over the place. We are only getting inspired favorably, every minute of the day. But, most of us never wondered, as to, what inspired us all along. Talk about the different expressions of art and we are all moulded and shaped on the basis of what we observe. More appropriately, we are by-products of art. And thus, I can state that something which is as ancient as 5000 years old can still find its connections to this day. And it still manages to influence us. Although, we may refine them according to our present day requirements.                             On the whole, life and art, both are intertwined. And they influence each other in equal measure. But, there is no denying the fact that despite art being an extension of our imagination, life perhaps, would find no takers if there was no expression of art.

Animal Cruelty : The Unspoken Truth

Since it has been quite long from the time I last wrote a blog post, I was brainstorming about all the various topics that caught my fancy during the hiatus. All along the way, the one topic that kept popping up in my mind was that of animal cruelty which is on a sharp rise in every different form. And here, I'm only referring to non - humans.                         Never really been the one to have given much thought about the cruelty meted out to animals; I have also never felt as strongly about these innoncent beings as much as I do, at the moment. What with us almost depriving the animal kingdom of its right to live. Today, I can attribute the need to give voice to these mute souls to having one myself. There are some aspects I feel more strongly about than the others. Starting with the concept of taking animals to slaughter houses, if one hears of the number of animals being slaughtered each day, he/she would feel nothing short of shame and disgust. And this number does not justify our purpose or requirement to do so. We have reached a stage where we look at everything in terms of profit and loss. And anything that does not benefit us or is no longer productive is straightaway dumped and in this context, it is killed. The recent controversy about 'Beef Ban' in India reinstates the same. Cows that can no longer be milked or rather those who are no longer productive are slaughtered. Who are we to put a value on someone or classify someone as useful or useless? Is humanity only restricted to humans? Or had it been legal, we would have practiced the same with our human counterparts. Whether these animals' killing is justified or not does not seem to be as much a concern as is removing them from the picture. Even the age old practice of animal sacrifice and honor killings among various cultures is an issue which needs to be seriously pondered over. In the name of God, we are killing and offering Him something which He, himself has proudly created. Many festivals mark the killing of a certain animals as auspicious. Now, many of these killings are supported by a set of beliefs. Like for example, during Bakri Eid, many Muslims believe that the goats that are not killed in the first attempt are not considered as pure. Hence, they may deny their consumption. I don't think God himself would be for the concept of putting these innocent creatures through torture.  And i'm pretty convinced that many of these animals that are killed in slaughter homes must be going to the garbage bin, owing to a disproportion in their requirement and killing.                                                                    Even those animals that are dependent on other animals or living creatures for their survival do not kill beyond requirement. And then there are some of us who indulge in the evil practice of animal hunting either for fun or to trade animal skin and other essential parts. Don't we have any moral obligation towards the environment ? It's quite shameful to learn that rather than protecting those who cannot speak up for themselves, we are actually misusing and misleading them for our benefit. A lot of these so-called environmentalists make comments that only make us fall further in our eyes by stating that we are actually doing a favor to the nature by keeping the population of animals in check, when actually this is far from what the truth is. The truth is that we are responsible for breeding many of these animals beyond a number, only to kill them later. Infact, we would be doing a great favor to the nature if we take the onus of keeping the human population under check. Rest assured, everything else will be taken care of.                                                                                                                               Animals have always completed the picture in the depiction of our environment. They all contribute to the environment in their own ways. And it would be a great disservice to the nature if we tamper with its creations. I would not be wrong in saying that it is us, the humans who are actually more dependent on nature and the animals than the other way round; only if we are willing to see the other side of the picture. Cows don't need us to give them milk. Dogs don't need humans for company and show their loyalty to. They don't benefit themselves from being loyal and faithful as much as we do. Horses can travel miles together by themselves. Similarly, animals are not required to be caged, if it wasn't for  us. They are quite adept to live in the natural surroundings and better off being on their own. The real question here is, who is a threat? Animals or humans? I'm pretty sure that if animals were asked to potray a form of evil, their depiction would, no doubt, be that of a human.