The Tryst of Truth and Lie

How many times when we go to any local market and spend half of the time haggling over the prices? Be it vegetables be it clothes be it apparels don’t you think this is just a roadside shop and since there is no MRP you can ask for the cheapest rate possible. But, what about art?

I am very closely attached to art. From the age of 6 I had a penchant for creative arts. I used to paint, make sketches, greeting cards and anything that had an artistic appeal. And I am passionate to have my own art gallery at some point in life. So I have been taking frequent visits to the art schools and observe them paint amidst the lap of nature. Also I used to go to galleries where these paintings are exhibited and sold. I have seen their talent earn them a good amount of money, specially the professional artists and students from the sophisticated arts college. The prime purchasers used to be these hotels who pick up the modern art and some interior designers. They pay a hefty sum of Rs 1 lakh for each painting!! I have never seen painting as a profession; it has only been my passion. But I used to compare the ones hung in the gallery with mine to find out how much can my talents fetch me and was quite content with the estimates.

But friends, there is a stark difference between established artists and a poor artist. People tend to pay the price for the sophistication not for the talent of the artist. Yes, I understand that there is always a difference between a brand and a roadside store, I understand why coffee is Rs 4 in that small stall and it becomes 60 rupees in a café coffee day. But is coffee the same as creativity?

Couple of weekends back, me and my husband we went to Pondicherry and you all must know this Auroville. It is a small village kind of place where these artists sell their craft pieces. I was thrilled to see them. And friends you won’t believe they pick up anything available at the junk yard and make a fine show piece out of it, be it a shard or a fissured fragment of wood. They had a mind blowing art on display. But see the sad state, a gentleman entered and for a craft work quoted 500 he simply asked to sell him the piece for 100. Man !! the artisan kept pleading him to pay at least 400 for the same. The bargaining went on and this gentleman simply walked his way out of the shop. The artisan had to call him back and offer that piece for meager 150. This is the situation of these poor artists. And we ,are so stolid that we think these roadside shops they just hike the price that too for a small piece of junk which is almost free of cost. The value of his creativity is completely lost.

Another instance, last month when I was in Delhi, I went to this place called Dilli haat. Again, there every month there is a display of handicrafts from each state. This time it was North east. And I saw this leaf there(show the leaf). Friends, this is not a piece of cloth but the natural leaf .The process of bringing it to this state is very tedious :They dry it for couple of months and then soak it in water for couple of months and it needs precision to achieve this ,that too in a period of 6 months. The rate of wastage is 80 % and imagine after all this how much was he selling this for ? 10 rupees. Otherwise nobody would buy it. I got the whole basket from him with all the leaves though I don’t know what will I be doing with that.

But I pity him, I pity such people who can never quote the price of their creativity just because they are poor, just because they couldn’t afford to go to an art school, They never got an opportunity to sell their paintings to these five star hotels. Just put yourself in their shoes and think for a while. It hurts right. I don’t know I feel so much for them since I paint and I make crafts ,I feel that the efforts get trampled.

So friends next time you visit a local art gallery remember that this artisan is selling his masterpiece , Please don’t haggle over the price. Either buy or walk away. At least don’t offend his art by saying “C’mon this is just a cane, Why do you have to charge so much?” You don’t have the right to value anybody’s creativity. Who are you? Even the richest person in the world cannot afford to buy anybody’s creativity. ART IS PRICELESS