* * On November 4th, The Rt. Hon. Keith Vaz MP, inaugurated, at the Nehru Centre, London, 'Goa Contemporaries', an exhibition of works on paper by seven Goa-based artists. Presented by Kiki's London, the show is co-sponsored by the Vasantrao Dempo Education and Research Trust and Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, a Dattaraj V Salgaocar initiative.
How terribly sad! Not the exhibition itself, whose curator is the well-known writer, Maria Mascarenhas, who is herself an art collector with a discerning eye. From all appearances, a great deal of thought has gone into bringing together the work of Julio De Souza, Swatee Kotwal, Apurva Kulkarni, Deviprasad C Rao, Suhas Shilker, and Norman Tagore. A high point of the exhibition is showcasing the work of Vamona Navalcar, Goa's senior-most artist, and the first Goan to study at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes of Portugal. One is, of course, a little surprised, if not bewildered that the irascible but brilliant Charudutta Prabhudesai finds no place on this otherwise fresh and exciting take on Goan contemporary art. One could even venture that this exhibition must also be taken to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai, and yes, perhaps even Baroda and Shantiniketan, if only to dispel the notion that most Indians (even the rich ones) have of Goa…the perfect place to chill out and eat and drink, where the natives are a frolicsome bunch who play the guitar while leaning against a coconut tree. Those who see this exhibition may just make the connection that the lineage of Gaitonde and Souza (my personal favourites) continues in good health. No, at the end of the day I am sad because the funding for this exhibition has came from two sources that have their roots of commerce in mining ore, or, simply put, prioritizing private company-specific profit over the environment. It's a pity I live in Pune, where this venerable city's only football team did not qualify for the national league. Had that happened I would have been out in full force with every single school student who likes football cajoled into joining me with placards everytime Dempo's, Salgaoncar, Vasco (do they have mining interests?) and now even Churchill Brothers (Haven't the Alemao's just bought a mine?) kicks the ball around. I love Goan football, make no mistake about that. My placards would read: 'With such beautiful football, why mine ore and screw the earth?'; 'Beautiful football and mining don't go hand in hand'; 'Play with Goa's future like you play with a ball'; and so on and so forth, depending on how much money I can raise to buy cardboard and paint. If I was in Greenpeace in fact, I would have great fun at stadiums highlighting how mining is destroying Goa for the sake of four or five families who have nothing on their mind but making money out of exporting Goa's mud. When families over the years have made enough wealth to ensure their prosperity for at least another four generations, one would think that they would have thought of diversifying into other forms of commerce and trade that were more ecologically sensitive. The software industry for instance, agriculture, ecotourism…convert the barges into houseboats…there's N number of possibilities if the companies in question just answer a few tough questions on the link between the protection of bio-diversity today and the promise of Goa's future. The time for prevaricating whether mining is profitable or not is absurd, because one must perforce ask at what cost? Now is the time for company introspection and reflection, if not self-critique. Perhaps even the commissioning of an independent social audit or what, in some circles is known as displaying corporate social responsibility. For me, the arts are indelibly linked with respect for the environment and life. The arts * celebrate* life and point us to the spirituality inherent in something as basic as mud. It does not appear that the mining corporations responsible for the non-profits that funded this art exhibition have understood this. Hartman de Souza