Performing arts in the life of a society

Heritage is the most precious gift nature could bestow on any society, be it cultural, historical, or any other variety.
It is the essence of a society’s identity. It speaks of a country or society’s richness. It places a nation on a high pedestal in the comity of nations. Heritage is something by which countries and societies are made out.
Like all of nature’s gifts, heritage has to be preserved and not only that but we have to take pains to pass it on to posterity.
When it comes to richness of historical or cultural heritage it could safely be contended that the subcontinent has a really rich heritage in music and culture among other things. Our rich folklore, our folk music and our centuries-old traditions and customs are something we all could rightly be proud of. Our literature oozes sublimity, wisdom, and philosophy. We have produced a whole lot of sages. People like Amir Khusrau in the field of music are names to contend with.
Unfortunately, we have not accorded cultural preservation due attention. One of the major reasons that could be attributed to this is because the world is shrinking in terms of communication and ideas and foreign influences making inroads into our cultural scenario have had a part to play. In the name of cosmopolitanism, we have surrendered a considerable portion of our cultural heritage to foreign influences. The modern pops with their ear-splitting frantic beat and the accompanying epileptic movements seems to be attempting to push our indigenous music into the background.
Then there is the pernicious curse of elitism whereby the most privileged, upper crust members of our society, in order to enforce their superiority over their less fortunate compatriots, feign ignorance of their own artistic heritage and patronize that of the colonial powers, as the English language is considered a means to upward social mobility.
Then, of course, in Pakistan, there has always been the debate between the orthodox segment of society and the others as regards the religious factor, with the former frowning on dance, music, and theatre as something repugnant to the spirit of religion while the latter accord it full sanction and relish it. In fact this debate has often assumed a very acrimonious hue with the orthodox segment of society frowning upon the very thought of music and performing arts.
One could conditionally agree with the members of the society holding rigid views that music and dance could be an undesirable activity if used to cater to base pleasures or carnality. Even the most beneficial of things could prove harmful if handled the wrong way. But as for music or the performing arts by themselves, one wonders if the same contention could be made. When a song or a ballad celebrates the heroism or exploits of a national hero or is supposed to be a sign of adulation to the divine, one certainly could not consider it a forbidden commodity. Similarly dance, when employed to depict a historical event or celebrate the beauty of the seasons could certainly not be termed lecherous or vulgar. Without ruffling the feelings of others, it could safely be contended that performing arts are, if channelized into the right way, ideal for maintaining social harmony.
Mayhem, rioting, and bloodletting, it has been incontrovertibly observed, are the hall marks of a society which is entertainment-starved. Karachi could be cited as an apt example it may have been observed that bloodletting in town has escalated since the time cinemas and auditoria, the havens of intellectual and cultural activity, as also a means of recreation, began capitulating to the whims of the capitalists to make room for shopping plazas to cater to the base instinct of sham consumerism. As the creative energies of the youth are not channelled into things like entertainment, they find a release through violence. It could be said on authority that if instead of shopping plazas and apartment complexes, cinema houses, auditoria, theatres, and concert halls were built, there would certainly be a let-up in crime because the youth who mainly indulge in such anti-social activity would find a release for their vibrant source of energy in these centres of cultural activity and crime certainly would decrease. Besides, it would be an ideal source of recreation for the less trendy segment of our society, the middle classes who do not have access to the ultra-glamorous pastimes that the elite do.
Today, perhaps, the UK is the best example of preservation of historical and cultural heritage. It has made tourism the UK’s highest source of foreign exchange earnings and has given the country a standing in the comity of nations because of the preservation of its past. Shakespeare’s birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s cottage, Stonehenge, Giant’s Causeway, the ancient Scottish castles, the annual Celtic music festival in Glasgow transporting one to medieval Scotland, the music festivals at Glastonbury and Glyndbourne and so much more have made the UK about the most favoured holiday destination In this case preservation of cultural and historical heritage has paid rich dividends too. The Lake District in England’s north-west may not be as picturesque as Switzerland or the Himalayas, but it has been so idolised as the home of William Wordsworth, that literature fans from the world over flock to it.
There are encouraging portents right here in Pakistan too and one of these is the setting up of institutes like the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) an organisation that will complete a decade of its existence on February 5. It has gone a long way in reshaping attitudes towards performing arts. It has made the pursuit more acceptable to various segments of society including the very orthodox and rigid. It has trained a crop of talented young men and women in the field of theatre and music to find a gratifying source of their talents. Or for that matter, there is the Pakistan Arts Council with its musical training for the youth of the not-so-affluent segment of society.
One could just wish them Godspeed.