The neo patrons

India is gradually becoming a capitalist economy. Markets have entered almost all spheres of life. This has unleashed a lot of energy into the economy and its growing at 9.4% annually. The unique characteristic of markets is that they are impersonal. A full flegded capitalist economy like the U.S.A has a social security net to protect its citizens from the drastic upheavals of markets. In India the government has not given a free hand to markets yet. As markets enter in creative fields like music, art, literature, these fields would cater to mass culture, which entails lowering the bar and a fall in standards. The tremendous influence of western culture is being gradually felt on the art and music fields as well. The new generation of musicians want instant success; nothing wrong with it. But it takes years to learn classical music or become an artist. There is no thing like instant success in art or classical music. Thus the new generation is steering away from such fields. Classical music is now confined to only few maestros and their families. The art and music fraternity is in a dire need of patrons. There are no Akbars,Shehjahans and Dara sikohs today to foster music and arts. The time has come for the new patrons to chip in. The mantle of the erstwhile emperors should be accepted by the corporates, who with their wealth can create a new generation of maestros and artists.

Though few corporates like Tata's and Mahindra's are patronising music and the arts but that is not enough. We need visionary industrialists and businessmen,like J.R.D. Tata, who look beyond bottomlines and balance sheets to serve the community at large. Or else classical music and art will be extinct.