Monday, July 2

Old Talent And New Talent ?

                                    
                                This post finds its inception in a random comment by a friend . He put forth a statement which goes by " The movies were so much more enticing and deep a decade back ; so was music ". I agreed , not for the sake of avoiding a debate , but because I truly felt so . But the same passing comment by that person sent my mind whirring last day while I was travelling by train to my home town . Is it really so ? Can we simply go around bracketting the newer generation talents to be unworthy just because it doesnt please us ? The other side of the coin deserves to be analysed isnt ?   
  
                                     On further pondering I came to the conclusion that I find palatable music and movies in the recent years as well , a few of them exceptionally good and pleasing . So why do we tend to generalise the talent from the past to be golden hits while eye the fresh talents cynically most of the times ?

                
                               Last day while I was in the hospital OPD ,packed these days with fever cases ( blame the weather ), the cell phone of a bystander started beeping , rather screaming . The ringtone happened to be a song from the movie ' Aashique ' . Had it been any other occasion I wouldnt have had second thoughts on throwing a cold glance at that person . But interestingly , not this time around . For a second I wished the song would just keep playing !  

                               So what is this all about ? Nostalgia ? To an extent it can be reasoned so right ?  Something from the past , be it a movie , a song or an incident recalled instantly sends a refreshing shower down our hearts . Can that be the psychological basis for the tendency to generalise talents from the past to be better than the present , just because they make us feel good ? 

                                                  
                                                 Listening to some of the latest songs i am left with little option but to wonder whether they are even based on the ragas and rules using which they are supposed to have been created . ( pardon me , i am not trained in classical music . But an opinion about the same from a veteran would be most welcome ) . most of them sound catchy . But then, is it just me or does everybody feel that the tunes rarely manage to linger longer in our minds ? Maybe we should give the fresh talents the privilege of time to establish and prove their space . Accepting them for the time being seems the most plausible . 

                                    On the other hand , I have seen an equal number of youngsters who almost start throwing up when a golden song or movie is mentioned . They stare mockingly at you with an implicit message depicted in the same ' Dude , move on ! '. Accepted that taste for art varies from person to person , but then blatant respite for those which we find less insatiable is sheer hippocrisy . 

                                     Everyone is entitled to one's opinion . There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to  judging the quality of art . There is so much talent now as there was before , only if its more , with the growing technologies serving their share . Talent wherever you spot it deserves to be acknowledged .  Accept what pleases you , reject the others.



6 comments:

  1. Talent is there in everyone ... we just need to have the confidence to portray it among others !!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The music in earlier times was inspired by our own classical heritage. Now I see most of the music (about 95%) based on western style and being played on western instruments. I would ask why western? Why not we Indians continue on their own culture and heritage (esp. in Bollywood, because nobody really listens except bollywood).

    Is Indian classical music, ghazals, tarannum, geets etc are so worse that these are neglected? Do western countries do this to their own styles. No. The work on their classical styles and create new ones.

    And those who "stare mockingly" when you play an oldie are really no judge of real music. Music that gives joy with its beepy tune is a shallow iteration of this art. Understanding the structure of music, knowing the artist and then listening to it gives the peace. Not the tune but its poetic lyrics are also important.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I still swear by the music of 70's and 80's for it is what i have grown up with and finding relaxing and pleasing as compared to songs of the present...maybe it is human nature but then it is my life. I do not enforce these songs on to my daughters for there likes are of present time and when i switch channels playing old songs i hear groans from both my daughters.. though they do like some of the old bands like abba, pink floyd etc. They do not want to hear old hindi songs for it is too slow for them !!! They have their choice and life.. so live and let live

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with what you wrote that we are all entitled to our own opinion.

    In terms of music, movie or any other art, Time is not an element that I really consider. There are a lot of things that I like in the present as well as in the past.

    What I loved about your post is that you were talking about art, opinions and respect.

    I really like your post :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading the post. Have something to say before you leave?

Share |