Beauty and the experience thereof in diverse human and man-made forms is one of the most subtle & sublime experiences & ideals of human life. People and cultures may differ in their idealisations and realisations of beauty and the white-man’s beauty might be black-man’s ugliness and vice versa. But nobody denies the fact that we all, in our respective cultural and subjective contexts, crave for the beauty; aspire for its creation and dream of its profusion in all aspects of life. The technicalities of the definition of beauty will land us into theoretical hair-splitting of undesirable order, which are of no special interest to us. Therefore, suffice it to say that beauty consists of an arrangement of integral parts into a coherent whole, according to proportion & harmony which evokes euphoria and solace in the human subject. Beauty is not a mere addendum to the existing scheme of things, but forms an essential pivot not only in the organisation of the world around us, but is also indispensable to our self-construction and individuality – a gaze into the mirror and an attempt to make ourselves look beautiful is only an ephemeral testimony to what has been said.
In all the religious traditions of the world, beauty has been assigned a place of distinction and oftentimes identified with the supreme divine reality itself. Thus, in one of its chapters, Quran identifies “the beauty of deeds” as the purpose of human creation and the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is reported to have said “God is beautiful and loves the beauty”. In the Indic traditions, the succinct formula of “Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram” goes on to place beauty at par with God and the Absolute Truth itself. No wonder, we come across gardens and buildings, spaces and structures of aesthetic importance built under the royal patronage in the past. This was an exercise in the “proliferation of beauty” and has had definite effects on body and mind – positive indeed.
Kashmir, by its mere mention, evokes the sense of beauty and the aesthetic feelings of refinement. This land has been always known as the paradise on Earth for the abundance of the spectres of natural beauty the providence has conferred upon it. But, the Kashmiri arts and crafts, the woodcarving and paper-machie, which in their intricacy and subtlety evoke the feelings of awe and inspiration, have created a parallel realm of beauty. While nature had been generous in conferring upon the land of Kashmir the bounties in the form of brooks & blossom, gardens & greenery, flowers & fruits and the diversity of landscape, Kashmiris themselves added to this realm of beauty by way of arts and crafts, their dressing style and the evolved crockery, the dazzling architecture and unparalleled carpets; all this set Kashmir atop the aesthetic maze and sharpened the peoples’ senses and sensitivities to the call of beauty. We aren’t under any spell of regionalism and fully acknowledge that each region has its own biome of natural-manmade amalgam of aesthetics. But for the fact that we are presently talking about Kashmir, the discourse binds us to refer to it again and again.
From miniature copper utensils to exquisitely designed Paper-Machie boxes, the perseverance and patience reflects back and forth and the efforts – physical and artistic — poured in are not lost to the observer. But modern day mechanisation of life, with machine made goods not only replacing the artistically crafted hand-made goods, but also invading other domains of life and ceasing the human agency in favour of the mechanisation of life. People no longer travel in the sense of letting the Earth caress their feet, but they board a bus and bus keeps travelling, while as the human subject keeps sitting at a single place. Well that may seem too trivial and can be justified in the wake of modern means of transport, But what about our dressing sense and clothing aesthetics – the corporate brands like Nike and United Colours of Benetton and others have sold us the hubris of globalisation without making us realise the destruction it has caused both to local economy and mores. So much so has this clothing invasion affected us that except Pheran (That too altered one), we remember and recognise nothing of our traditional dress-code and do not even know what our vernacular dress used to be like. There is another and more pervasive tendency whereby one, driven by the sense of inferiority complex, is drawn to the point where his hatred for his own culture and tradition develops into alienation. Seeing the scientific and technological ascent of the West, one is, at times, led into the belief that we are culturally and traditionally as much backward with respect to the West as much we are in matters of science and technology. This false consciousness leads one to give up his inherited values, mores, paradigms and perspectives on life and culture and he surrenders sheepishly to all alien influences. Let it also be reiterated that cultures and civilizations have always learnt and imbibed from one another and there is nothing to go against it or to reject this tendency wholesale.
With the arrival of the reign of haste and ushering in an era of hurry, we have not only given up our refined aesthetic tastes and sensitivities, but have also undone the basic and elementary sense of preserving and valuing beauty and objects of aesthetic value. From music to architecture, calligraphy to dressing, dining habits to conversations, the uncouth culture and coarse habits have displaced subtlety and finesse, grace and dignity and in a trend of cultural pulverization, all that was best, has been uprooted and erased from the arch of life and living. Restoration of beauty is not a hollow call to the soul-less structures and hypnotising music, but in this call we see restoration of equilibrium and grace; retrieval of human composure and an equipoise with the world around and the world within. The overarching chaos and ugliness which has come to define our life in all its facets is also responsible for the woes we are struggling with. It thus becomes inevitable to listen closely to the call of beauty and to wake to it. In it lies the secret of harmonious and prosperous coexistence with ourselves and the world at large.
- Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
