'Towards light'

Culture is the worship of beauty.
'Towards light'

Culture is the worship of beauty. Thus had said Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Assam's greatest artiste of the modern era, who had, in a short lifespan of just 48 years, not only redefined Assamese culture, but had ushered in a kind of modernity which had shown the path to a wonderful future, but not before establishing a firm rooting in the soil of this land. A poet, a lyricist, a singer, a musician, a playwright, an actor, a filmmaker, a revolutionary, a freedom fighter, a thinker, an author – he was also a great social thinker who had great ideas to make the Assamese people forward, in the process making this great nation proud. One short essay called 'Towards Light', written by the great artiste is enough to understand that everything related to human progress, and the progress of a society or a nation, revolves around culture. This culture is not about just singing and dancing, as most ordinary mortals tend to understand. Instead, as he had said, while complete cultural emancipation is the ultimate in human joy, cultural progress is not possible without exercising restraint. Jyotiprasad had also said that while till now the people have satisfied themselves with "low" culture, the mass people must be gradually made aware of a "superior" culture which will not only enable them to differentiate between good and evil, but also empower them to reject evil through a democratic process. His message was that society has to rid itself of all evils resulting from man self-seeking, greed, narrow-mindedness and craze for power and that only cultured people can do this. According to him, while it was culture alone that had made possible the passage of one particular species on this earth from the animal to the human level, it is also up to the people now to decide whether they want to travel backwards or march forward. Remembering Jyotiprasad on his 71st death anniversary by way of singing his songs, enacting his plays or paying floral tributes is not enough. It is important that every Assamese reads his works, understand their real meanings and spread the messages contained therein.

Top Headlines

No stories found.
Sentinel Assam
www.sentinelassam.com