Woman–Independence- Arts/ Business and Nartanam

That is quite a confusing assortment of issues in one title.

Maybe reading on will present clarity.

“But that is UNFAIR to a man,”said my nephew in a conversation which veered around women’s rights and a famous divorce wherein the man had to part with a handsome portion of his life’s savings to his wife who made his home while he earned the big bucks.

“Mother, you are in danger of sounding extinct!” - reacted my daughter a few years ago,  to my sage advice as she was leaving for the USA for her under graduation. All I had suggested was that it was in the woman’s nature to nurture and be the pivot of a family and that it may be worth its while to consider the same when she sets out to make a career and a life.

“You are too radical in your thoughts!” say my men friends when I suggest that women’s unpaid work at home is an important force behind the paid work that men undertake; and when assessed, it could turn out to be a substantial slice of the economy and the GDP of any country.  

The efforts of women as home makers, care givers, tutors to their children, caring for their elderly, being around the family as a support system in many small and big ways goes unacknowledged. It is another matter that most women home makers find their unpaid job to be extremely rewarding, emotionally.  

Arguments in favor of women’s unpaid work are either cold shouldered or met with indulgent smirks; or worse, a judgement is passed that the arguing woman is not a lady of culture. Of course, there is no dearth of elite drawing room- arm chair high thinking in my country which is not a penny’s worth. 

Women and independence at times seem to be mutually exclusive terms. The feminists would love seeing me barbecued on hot coals for saying that.

Moving on to Arts/ Business and Nartanam, a journal of dances of India:

“Mother, you sound too meek; a go get-er has to be aggressively articulate,” said my daughter who is studying law, when I commented that the spokespersons of various political parties are too aggressive in their voluminous sound bytes on Television and seem to be so devoid of etiquette/culture.

“Your children are grown up; what stops you now? You are too regressive to be a successful career woman,” said a well meaning successful friend when I cited family as a reason for refusing to locate to Delhi for better work opportunities.

“You have to make the journal financially viable. You cannot finance it from your pocket drawing from your husband’s resources!”-  said a well meaning aunt. I have barely taken over the sick journal from its former publishers for whom I had worked gratis for a long time. My artistic inclination and work were highly appreciated; as long as it did not demand investment of money. That a venture needs some seed capital and a gestation period before it breaks even; more so a financially sick journal dealing with classical arts, is a negligible fact.

“But you cannot close down such a fantastic journal! We are with you,” say well meaning friends from the field. One is grateful for their moral support.

“Can we purchase the latest issue of Nartanam? We do not want to take a subscription,” said a caller. When asked why he wants this latest issue, he informs that his daughter is a dancer and her picture is there on one of the pages.

Dancers do not have time to read. Yes, they sure are interested to be on the pages of the journal. Dance students cannot be accused of having had a brush with serious reading on dance; they have never had the fortune of seeing their seniors or teachers at it.

However, most of our readers are genuine lovers of dance; not the dancers or dance students. The latest is a doctor from USA who was so touched by the wealth of Indian dance presented in Nartanam’s pages that he wants to buy all the past issues and donate it to a temple library in the USA so that its contents are seen by many others.

It is impossible to deal with government libraries. They all want the books but payments are harassing slow.  Government orders of our special issues are too risky to execute. If the concerned IAS official is transferred; ones supplies are stuck up and usually the succeeding IAS officer likes to reverse everything the former was up to. 

“But what happens to my own writing?” I protest. Reviving the journal has taken me away from my own writing. I am caught up with Nartanam’s financial viability while also ensuring the publication of a world class issue every three months.

Sublime Arts and literature had always flourished under the royal and elite patronage or were the fruits of passion of maverick saints and artists. Has one ever heard of traders taking up elite arts as profitable business ventures?

I am no royalty and one cannot mistake me for a saint or artist. Yes, I do seem to be a maverick to have taken up the sick journal; and continue bringing out a dazzling issue, dot on time every quarter; and yes, I seem to have no option but to run Nartanam on a business model.

That, my friends, is the story of Nartanam which at the moment needs subscribers, advertisers and may be a patron or two (if not royalty) who believe in its work and are willing to finance it at this difficult juncture.

Nartanam’s work and worth is there for everyone to assess at www.nartanam.in and you are free to contact me at editornartanam@gmail.com