Articurity

A few moments rotate within the circumference of each mortal life when your head spins-off to the inevitability of eternal aphorisms. Wisdom you always admired and knew it was there on that second rack but never actually bothered to pull down to the flavors of your diurnal chore. Then suddenly- a mild tremor-an earthquake shaking the private world-and in a jiffy you concede the potency of those very words you neglected all your life.
I received that pretty jolt today. I had gone to the Dakshineshwar Temple with my folks. The late evening had a chill of melancholy smeared on its countenance and mesmerized I reached for my ‘analog’ camera to capture the mood. All of a sudden out of no where from the blue, and wearing a green tacky shirt, came a wanderer from the temple office forbidding me to shoot. Now only those who have seen the golden sun dying on the shimmy of a sad and tranquil Ganga, behind the arches of a dozen Shiv temples can appreciate the aesthetics of the sight. I tried to reason with the gentleman but it was of no avail. He explained to me the security settings pretty clearly. Earlier no picture of the ‘Bigraha’ (idol) was allowed, but now the whole temple is a neo-Shangri La, no-snapping zone.
It was all the more saddening because I have been frequenting this spiritual haven since childhood (a rare Hindu holy place that doesn’t reek of squalor) and even last December I had a free reign strolling around with my handy cam recording video at will, with no zealot at sight and now even this petty Kodak is banned.
The point I am getting to is : This is the inevitable outcome of protectionism, security always rings the death knell on art. The very existence of the two is contradictory in nature; while security tends to restrict, art tends to emancipate us from the atrocity of routine. Security is shepherding the subjects, art is opening the window, security excludes people, art includes people. Most importantly however while security instinctively ‘suspects’ people, art restore our faith in humanity.
However all things said and done security is a ‘photosynthesis’ in modern life, a necessary evil you cannot do without in this age of global terrorism. How can I blame the poor harried officials for preventing me from snapping around knowing fully well that I can be just another suicide bomber preparing for my bloodiest battle. It’s the great Greeks who first commented that art is a peacetime activity. The restrictions imposed here simply highlight the fact that today we live in a constant no-peace, a quasi –war badgering our senses, numbing our nerves. And in such cloister security will prosper to build better walls giving us better mobiles to talk.
So unfortunately but perhaps not unsurprisingly Articurity, that esoteric medley of art and security where both co-exist in harmony is just another Utopian dream.