World View

It’s great to live in an independent country,a democracy,but it’s also important to understand that with great freedom comes great responsibility. There has to be freedom to express one’s own self,which,unfortunately,has been taken away in recent times due to imposition by some other people. When we look at freedom,we need to contextualise it at different levels — as an individual and as a nation,in which hundreds and thousands of people come together. We lack that feeling of living in a community. In recent times,there has also been tremendous pressure on artistic freedom that is not good for art and culture. When it comes to me as an individual,I do feel free. There is a fantastic cultural legacy that I am a part of and I can do what I want to do. I have reacted to socio-political situations but have tried to do it responsibly. One must understand that art now is not calender art. Visual art is not necessarily what the public is familiar with,so contemporary artists need to express themselves in a clear manner so that the message comes across.

When it comes to patriotism I feel it’s an inbuilt feeling — the country where one is born,has studied and lived. There must,however,be a sense of being a part of the larger world; others are not enemies,there needs to be a dialogue.

As told to Vandana Kalra