Volume V, Issue 11-12
Author: Imran Ali Namazi
Editor’s Note: Sri Aurobindo once wrote, “Art may interpret that which is already manifest or was manifest at one time, or it may interpret what will be manifest hereafter. It may even be used as one of the agencies in the manifestation” (CWSA, Vol. 1, p. 538). Here is a poet and a seeker of truth emphasising this role of art and inviting artists to create art to help realise the earth’s destiny, a new world made of a new consciousness.
The Power of Art
My grandpa made cartoons for a magazine till mid-seventies,
His wife, the most beautiful 10-feet kolams on special days.
My Maa, the gifted one, on fine arts she would thrive.
My sister’s painted creations had us all in a daze.
In my generation, my sibling and I play with words and verse,
A new kind of art where the word conjures visions in the mind.
What do we know about the artists who gave their all — streams
Of consciousness that if seen ‘n heard, may show us a way out of this bind.
I wonder if my niece too will be an artist someday… I longed for
A picture of the ladies of four generations to sit and paint —
But that picture evaded me and now granny is not here,
She’s journeyed off to the world between lives, but did not taint
Our understanding of life’s beauty. For we are all acutely
Aware of the underpinning aesthetic that uplifts us all.
Go paint, my dear, let your soul exalt your senses, until finally,
You are one with the Cosmos, turned skyward, standing tall.
I knew a painter with the name Niggle1
Obsessed he was with the one big tree,
Everything and every thought was woven into its story.
When he died and went to heaven, it was brought to reality.
So make art that mirrors your deepest yearnings, folks
For those meditations will someday become your destiny.
Notes
- Niggle was the protagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story Leaf by Niggle. Niggle was an artist who had a long journey to make, but procrastinated on it due to his dislike of the idea. The story is regarded as an allegory of Tolkien’s own creative process and life. ↩︎
Read more by Imran
~ Design: Beloo Mehra
