The Infant We Killed

The Infant We Killed
by Prem Shankar Jha

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20041011&fname=Column+Prem+%28F%29&sid=1

A tribute to Mukul Raj Anand
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Interesting read.

--Excerpts--

It is visible above all in our total neglect of our cultural heritage.
Am I exaggerating? Look at any new housing colony—whether built by the
government or by a private promoter: can you find a single feature in
the houses, hotels and shopping areas that you can identify as Indian?
Why are architects like Charles Correa, Raj Rival and Satish Grover,
who have studied Indian architectural forms exhaustively and sought to
incorporate some of their basic elements into their work, now doing
most of their work abroad? Why unlike every metropolitan nation does
India not have a classical music channel on FM radio anywhere in the
country? Why does Doordarshan give its classical arts channel, DD
Bharati, such stepmotherly treatment and why is it such a resounding
failure? Why, in the bookshops of Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore has Marg
been submerged under an avalanche of new magazines that 'sell'
Bollywood and beauty contests as Indian culture? Why, with one
honourable exception, The Hindu, does none of them consider trends and
developments in music, classical dance and the fine arts to be worthy
of even an occasional report? Why did Delhi's classical dancers become
so desperate a few years ago that they held a joint press conference
to warn the public that dance would die if the neglect in the media
continued? And why did their cry of distress only evoke snide reports
in the press about which dancer had been badmouthing which one after
the conference?