Solemn Retorts…with a Smiley

Amrita Gupta Singh, an ex-student of Santiniketan responds to JohnyML’s article ‘From the Sidelines of a Seminar’ published in the previous issue of www.artconcerns.com. She says that JohnyML takes the position of a tourist and does not have a full knowledge of the internal politics of Santiniketan, where female faculties are not entertained thanks to its adherence to defunct traditionalism.

“A typical Indian feminist from the land of Amaryta Sen”...a statement that is interesting and definitely provocative. Should I take this as a compliment or as chauvinistic patronizing from a “typical” male scholar? I choose the latter. I have never been politically correct and will never be. I am proud to be from the land of Amartya Sen, but my dear fellow writer, Santiniketan is much more than what you have stated, the line seems to almost synonymous to those found on the many tourist websites that is churned out on the internet, on Santiniketan. According to my knowledge, this visit to Santiniketan seems to be your first, that too, only three days of an international seminar.  I propose that your understanding of an intricate and internal problem of the lack of women faculty in Kala-Bhavana is from the position of an outsider/tourist. You have built up your argument based on historical evidence; I appreciate your interest in this issue. I acknowledge the fact that there have been “three women faculties who retired and left” and the “one position in the Art History department” never got filled due to a legal tussle. I will state here that historical evidence is fine as an argument, (“retired and left” sounds like doomsday to me), but what about the glaring gap that is evidenced in present day Santiniketan?

I also do not understand why any voice that is raised in favour of women (in this case, privileged, intelligent and educated) by another educated woman who has her grey cells right in place, be turned into a gender issue? What is “typical” and “feminist” in raising a very pertinent concern of the lack of women faculty in the 21st century, in one of the progressive institutions of the country? Is the production and dissemination of knowledge systems in this liberal site of creative freedom and self-discovery proclaimed to be a male domain? Or does this uphold a homo-social agenda? I also came across a male research scholar (whom I will term to be regressive), who stated that a “there is no suitable female candidate for a post in Kalabhavana”! I was shocked, saddened and ofcourse furious to hear such an utterance in today’s times!

I have spent considerable time in Santiniketan, I have met wonderful and sensitive teachers (all male), who are experts in their respective fields, and who sympathise with this issue; I have learnt a lot in an atmosphere of freedom, I admit that, but I have also met seniors (women) who are serious scholars and practitioners, who would easily fill “the suitable candidate” post that the authorities seem to be looking for. In the past five years, there have been several positions advertised and all filled, ofcourse, by male candidates! Where are the female artists and scholars who regularly graduate from the well-known art institutions of the country? I do know of male students of Kalabhavana who have been absorbed in the faculty, why aren’t the female students given this privilege? Is this not a serious predicament? Forget about a permanent post, even a Visiting Faculty post is not presented to female candidates; there are heated arguments on this issue that take place regularly in this site, but nothing seems to be done about it. Why? I fail to understand. There are multiple questions, but no solutions, it seems, and I propose that the solution has to come from within, not without. This is not a feminist issue; this is an issue of rights, human rights. Nothing high or low about it; instead of ironing out or bracketing this within the contested domain of the male/female, why can’t we look at it collectively, minus the ego?  My proposal seems utopian, but many utopian dreams are like dark clouds with a silver lining. I hope for the silver lining to broaden and to be all- encompassing. Am I asking too much? I don’t think so…in the end, I love Santiniketan and its ethos; I have had life- enhancing experiences in this liberal institute, it is just that the term ‘liberal’ should be practiced vigorously, not just theorized, to be contextualized within the contemporary milieu. The world is changing rapidly, we cannot live in the past; the past should act like a resource, not an ivory-tower of history.

Have I clarified my position, my dear fellow writer? I hope to receive a resounding affirmation…I don’t mean to patronize you; hence I end my argument here with a smiley (in words).