FACETS OF IINDIAN CULTURE

196
formality to be gone through just
or
a ritual elementary point
point seems to have to l the
time. This
AI India Radio.
been lgnored
by the
to throw out some of the
I have tried
came to my mind in thinking about this ldeas Katha.
subject. which
kalakshepm has appealed to me more as an Art than a
mere story-teling Of course devotion has to be given a
prominent place One fnds it easier at times to produce
a devotional atmosphere through music than by mere story
teling, and dramatic presentation proves also very helpful
in adding to the devotional aspect. I feel that this aspect
of the Katha requires a little more attention at the bands
it at present.
of the performers than is given to
Kathakalakshepam is a glorious institution in the cul.
the
tural ife of India, meant to keep alive the soul of
un
nation. Once it was a very popular institution. Most
fortunately its popularity has declined of late; this is not
a healthy sign, Our greatness lies in our special culture
and not in spurious imitations, And this institution was a
very powerful factor in our cultural life. True patriotism
and reverence for our ancient culture require that this art
should not be allowed to decline or degenerate into a
mere money-making affair. While our Music Sabhas go in
for all kinds of shows of doubtfu! usefulness they do not
seen to gve suficient encouragement to this art. f there
is proper demand there will be adequate supply also. Let
me hope that our Sabhas will become more alive to their
responsibility in this matter.
29. The Place of Art in Education
The true object of education is to develop human per
tonality in al its aspects. Any over-emphasis on aparticular
aspect to the neglect of another may lead to a kind of
lop-sided development which in the long run may do more
harm than good. There was a time in
when ernphasis was laid our educational history
only upon the intellectual develop-
 THE PLACE OF
ART IN
ment of the student, In
thoee days
EDUCATIO N 197
attention pald even to physical there
wa very Htte
began to consider
much s0 that
the development
one'simportance of inphysicalLatteriy they
great weight in
But man isselecting profciency sparts was iven
candidates certain
for
ments, not
body. He isis very much merely his intellect and his appotnt-
more. He is a physicai
real existence is far above
physical and mental aspects. and
composite
deeper than
being whose
vital He bas bis the merely
play a more part in his emotions which
ment of his nation than
is
said that we are mostly led
development and the develop-
ordinarily recognised. It is
by our often
intellect comes in only to supply
validsentiments
and our
we decide to do in reasons for what
ur sentiments. Over and response to the promptings of
soul above all this, man is an
whose progress all the other immortal
factors of his eistence
serve to help.

Unfortunately the development of human

bas not received that attention which is due to itemotions
educational institutions.. In one sense it may be saidin that
our
the present dead-lock in world affairs is
to a large extent
due to the lop-sided development of
ferred to above. All emphasis was laidhuman personality re
on head development
while the heart of humanity was allowed to starve. It is
this over-development of the head at the expense of the
heart that has gone a long way to supply the psychoogical
basis for our modern troubles. If there had been a balanced
progress of the head and the heart, human atre would
have developed certain fundamental moral values which
would have made it impossible for the present world muddle
to have come about. It is, therefore, necessary that the
heart development of the pupil should receive very yat
attention at the hands of the educationalists. I am reminded
in this connection of a great Chinese proverb whichimpli
says,
"If you have two loaves. sel one and buy a ily The
198
FACETs OF INDIAN CULTURR
Do
cation is obvious. Do not concertrate your
attention on
only food and drink, but pay equal attention to the
develop-of
ment of your aesthetic nature, If the aesthetic nature
is ignored, he will slide back to the animal
There is an old Sanskrit verse which says that a kimanngdcm,
man who
is without any taste for music, literature and other ine
arts is verily a beast. What disinguishes a man primaily
from a beast is this aesthetic faculty.
We speak of culture as signifying an all-round develon
ment of buman faculties, It has been said that science js
curiosity about life, art is wonder at life, philosophy is an
attitude towards ife and religion is reverence for life. True
cu!ture includes all these four aspects and a cultured man
lines.
ought to show development along all these four
Einstein said: *The most beautiful and most profound emo
tion we can experience is the sensation of the Mysterious.
He to whom this emo
It is the source of all true science.
and stand
tion is a stranger, who could no longer wonder wonder
Wrapped in awe, is as good as dead." This sense of
is the basis of true culture.
aesthetics
it is, therefore, obvious that education in
is as essential as, if not more than, mere intellectual or
physical education. Man can never be complete or balanced
or harmonious unless his emotions are trained, developea
240 sublimated, and here comes in the need for in troduciDg
artThein true
our function
educationalof curriculum
all arts is astoa train
compulsory subject.
ou emotional
nature, barconise it and then sublimáte it so that an
instinctive feeling to decide what is good, what is true and
what is beautiful may be developed, Art enables One
Sense the essence of things not merely as they seem bue
taey realy are, To the artist, every object or event
hot merely what it appears but represents a thought ln
ind of God. When he looks at an object he not merey
kook3 a it but through it into the Idea behind of whicli
 THE NLACE OF ART IN
EDUCATION 199
that object of event is : an expression, however faint; and

the objective
world has a new
to the meaning for him, revals
Doreto
him than ordinary man, He is thus enabled
thinkin terms ofof types (archetypes, as Plato called
ino the
mind of them)
God. Thís helps him to achieve a synthesis
wbich the analytical methods ofof intellectual science will
nrely help him to achieve. Atype in the mind of God is
evealed down here in myriads of forms representing that
ype, m
multiplicity below and unity above-this is what the
atist is enabled to feel and realise. This is best seen es-
pecially in portrait-painting where the portrait (painted by
a real artist) does not only represent the person as he
appeared to be at the moment he was observed but the
person as he generally is (which means his general character
and temperament) and What that person is in the mind of
God.
Art refines our nature and creates an instinctive
sense of fitness of things. It helps discipline without any
formal rules of discipline, I may mention here an experi
ment tried by Madame Montessori in one of her schools i
Milan. This is what she says: "I had tried to have a Direct
ress of 'Children's House' in Milan who is a gifted musi
cian make a number of trials and experiments.
She was greatly surprised to discover the effect of such
music.. .She now noticed that as she multiplied
nd repeated the rhythm exercises the children little by
ittle left off their ugly jumping, until fnally it was a thing
Of the past. The Directress one day asked for an explana
tion for this change of conduct.. .The older
enldren gave various replies, whose meaning was the sam.

It is not nice to jump',

"]umping is ugly',
It is rude to jump".
This was certainly a beautiful triumpb for our method,"
200
FACETS OF INDIAN CULTURE
of discipline might be be solved t
Many problems
introducing art training as part of the edu
sOme extent by am reminded of what the lat
cational curriculum. I
one of the Muel
Sir C R. Reddi said in inaugurating time some Indian nnl.
Conferences in Travancore. At that
going to attend some War Council mneeting i
dcans were sending politician:
London. Mr. Reddi said that if instead of
send some top-ranking musicians and if the
they would with their music, ther:
War Council proceedings started
probability be no war at all. A great change
would in all
mysterious manner through
takes place in human nature in a mean that in our schoos
not
art education, Of course, I do
should train professional musicians and artists any more
we other walks of human life.
than we train professionals in
open up the hidden faculties in a human
We are here to transmute the
play to good ones and
being and give full ones. A man of heart, des
undesirable ones into desirable
numerous failings and lapses will one day become
pite his intellectually arrogant may not
a saint, But a man who is
achieve this. In our institutions we should pro
be able to
facilities for unfolding the aesthetic nature in the
vide They should develop art
young ones entrusted to our care,
appreciate art and beauty or to put
sensibility, power to
it in short, become a cultured citizen.