Tanya: As chairman of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) national culture committee and co-founder of the Jaipur Literature Festival, amongst your many other roles invested in the arts/culture of India, it is important for us to get a view on how you perceive India’s eclectic culture pertaining to its many local regions, its peoples, and their significance as a whole.

Sanjoy: I have just returned from a trip to Assam in the Northeast of India, where we visited an island called Majuli, the largest riverine island in the world. It was interesting to see its culture, where bamboo is the main medium of (renewable) consumption. Not just in architecture across the strata of society, but also in food, fabric, mask-making, and so on. Now, these are not puppet-masks, but masks worn by the people on a daily basis made of bamboo on which they plaster 20% mud and 80% cow dung mixed with water from the Brahmaputra River, very different from the paper-maché masks found in New Delhi. The diversity of culture found in India is rarely found in any other part of the world. Across the length and breadth of the country, every hundred miles things change. Be it food, weaving techniques, or dressing styles etc. The point is that Indian traditional culture continues very significantly to date. It is not just alive but alive and kicking, from cradle to grave. In many of the places (such as Africa, for example) survival of cultural traditions depend on subsidies from the government. In India, it is different, it sustains as a part of everyday living, and is passed on from generation to the next, irrespective of whether it maybe the lower, middle, or high income strata of society. Also, when one looks at the very large Indian diaspora across the world, they have been maintaining traditions and techniques over time. It is not the gurus of yore who maintain them, but the young of India– be it a classical form or a contemporary derivative of it, the youth are deeply immersed in traditional culture, and thus, it is handed down the generations.

Tanya: The Jaipur Literature Festival has been a grand success, and is famed across the globe. Within literature and the arts––of Indian writers and artists––how do you see the juxtaposition of these within the Indian and global scenarios?

Sanjoy: John and Faith Singh, founders of the textile block printing company called Anokhi, were involved in the restoration and preservation of old buildings, gateways, havelis, and so on. They were invested in the built and cultural heritage of the city of Jaipur. In 2001, they had visited the Edinburgh Festival where they saw that most shows were held in repurposed heritage buildings. They felt it was a great way to show how the arts could create a value proposition for built heritage. They asked us to set up The Jaipur Virasat Heritage Festival, which ran for a couple of years, but did not go far because of financial issues. It had a literature wing, and when asked to continue running it, we split it . We had no five-year plan. No one envisaged it would become the world’s largest literary gathering. But people came for the heritage of the city, the historical palaces with its sense of romance, valour, and untold stories, the hospitality and its unique food, the retail therapy (because of its furniture, block printing, gem stones etc.), its unique art forms… All these together plus the required infrastructure made things successful.

When one looks at International festivals, there is an understanding of the creative sector and its possibility of creating jobs. JLF gave a huge impetus to 300 other festivals, in India and internationally. It also provided a platform for local, nuanced voices–– it created a cultural plethora of the written word. While the main stay is the literature component, we don’t see a difference between art forms as we carry them all in our festival. The Kochi Biennale, a contemporary art festival, is a juxtaposition of various art forms involving a plethora of art as well as the sciences.

Tanya: You have been speaking of creative economies as a crucial aspect of local economies, starting from traditional arts and crafts, to others. Can you share with the readers the uniqueness of India in this regard, how intricately webbed art is to the land and the lives of its peoples?

Sanjoy: Our arts in India have never been confined to an opera house or a theatre venue. Take the Ramlila tradition for example–– every street will have a production of the Ramlila playing. It is done by the community and for the community, it is very localised.[1]  Every tradition in India has its own New Year celebrations too, within these too one differs from the other. Rice, for example, is used to create floor designs because it eventually became food for the ants. The linkages link our traditions to our environment, to our heritage. In every part of India, the animistic form (Lord Shiva for example, or any of the Shakti traditions, which come from a religious iconography) is at some level connected to the environment. We have the sacred tree, the sacred animal, the sacred bird, the peacock feather… All of these are celebrated in some way or the other. Indian culture is not born out of isolation but born out of integration. And because it is integrated into everyday life and  living, its culture still exists even today. Look at Varanasi. It epitomises everyday heritage. One sees yoga being performed, the evening aarti, bodies being consumed to the flame and ashes let into the Ganges. People come out of the Benaras Hindu Hospital to die at the two cremation ghats[2] in order to attain moksha[3]. In addition, there are the transgender folk, the Kabir mat ? which flings mud at these traditions… each of these are culturally specific but all of these are integrated into what we call India. Indian philosophy is not confined to scripture or the written form, instead it has evolved through the ages, and in its evolution it has been being very specific of using culture to keep its traditions alive. Be it the Mahabharata, Ramayana, the Panchatantra, they make sure it is kept alive and its representation is seen through its gharanas and traditional forms.

Tanya: The struggle for funding and the need for policy change, these are aspects which you have time and again stressed upon. Where do you see the position the private sector currently holds? What needs to be reorganised and realigned?

Sanjoy: The interesting thing is unlike France or the UK, for example, where the performing and visual art sectors are highly subsided, in India this is not true. Although some funding comes from the government, much of the successful expositions are supported by the private sector. And this is not new. If one looks into the past, we see the maharajahs or the bureaucrats of yore, who supported the arts. Akbar’s court, for example, saw hundreds of painters from across the traditions creating wonderful folios, this has pretty much been the essence of India’s cultural renaissance.[4] This patronage came to be replaced by corporate houses and there to be there has been a resurgence and an understanding by corporate houses in the last fifteen odd years that this is not about a feel good factor or vanity projects but about branding. The Mahindra Group run nine festivals, each associated with a specific brand of theirs. Today, they are one of India’s most trusted brands, where their involvement with the arts have proven to be a significant contributor to it.

There is a new understanding of the arts in India, what needs to be changed is policy. Tax breaks are not necessarily available if invested in the arts. If a million dollars is invested in the arts, one is able to create ninety-nine to a hundred and one jobs. The same money if invested in built economy creates as few as nine to eleven jobs. Government bodies need to recognize this potential and how look at they can collaborate with corporates to make it happen.

Tanya: What about contemporary art practices in a culturally strong country like India? Can you share how you see it placed, and its future in India ? Are you envisaging a specific position for it?

Sanjoy: In the earlier times, all the way to the early 1970s, there was the Baroda School, JJ School of Art, and so on. As India emerged as an economic power and new money started coming in, it gave birth to a lot of visual representation–– decorative art is how I would call it. Today, things have changed, from the Kochi Biennale to the many galleries and museums, conceptual art has become central to India’s visual arts world. In Kochi, many warehouses have been restored and turned into gallery spaces. As I had mentioned, JLF is very linked to the tradition and culture of the city of Jaipur. India’s treasure trove of heritage structures offers possibilities for unique festivals. However, what is lacking is a need for education and awareness, citizens being instructed in the value of the arts.

Tanya: Where do you position curators in art and culture? I understand there is a dearth of good curators who can envisage through their imagination and intellect new possibilities. Do you recognize curatorial education and exposure an answer to create new democratic and socially inclusive meeting points?

Sanjoy: To cut a good story in film, we need a good editor. Similarly, we need curators for the arts. Where the value of talent is recognised and is responsible for the creation and curation of an artist’s work across a period of time. Especially with new emerging artists, so that they are given a platform to showcase their work. India has so many traditional art forms and being able to recognise exceptional artists is important. Traditional art forms like Gond, Madhubani, and so on involve families creating art together, who have generational knowledge of the skill. Well-trained, educated curators are missing in India, those who understand tradition and form. Village after village we have painters. How are we going to recognize the talented artist but through education in the art form. India is missing curators who are well-versed in theory, practice, and an awareness of what is out there. Art projects are unfortunately seen largely as vanity projects.

Sanjoy K. Roy, an entrepreneur of the arts, is Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, which produces over 33 festivals in 42 cities and 17 countries, including the world’s largest literary gathering — the Jaipur Literature Festival and international editions of JLF. He is a founder-trustee of Salaam Baalak Trust, working to provide support services for street and working children in the inner city of Delhi where over 130,000 children have benefited from education, training and residential services. Roy is the Co-chair of the Art and Culture Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and former President of Event and Entertainment Management Association. He lectures at and works in collaboration with leading universities across the world and has been conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of the University honoris causa by University of York, UK, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the arts and society.