Mr. Medici, wherefore art thou?

Why is there such a dearth in public philanthropy in the arts? I am not saying that the rich of Bangladesh are parsimonious scrooges in the flesh. They are not. Our countryside is awash with public institutions that carry name of the local notables and legends and endowed by the following generation to carry the name and in some cases, as a PR venture for the eventual run for parliament. What I am trying to point out is that, in the likes of the Western world, where the rich, and particularly their spouses, patronise and promote the arts, that tradition has not been taken up here in Bangladesh. The symphony, the ballet, the art museums, and their patrons usually read like the who's who of the city, who manages to have tons of gala dinners and raise millions. If the museum needs to have a new wing or the symphony needs a new hall, they don't go and appeal to the ministry of culture or to the city authorities. Their patrons throw a few parties, raise a few million and voila…the institutions have an extension.

Dhaka scene, especially what is now jokingly termed as the tri-state area of Gulshan/Banani/Baridhara, is rife with parties. Go to any of the shin-digs, and it is apparent that money is not lacking. Between the Louis Vitton bags and the sophisticated diamond necklaces, and not to ignore the Hermes ties and the Cuban cigars, the potential is there. Somebody needs to tell them that the energy spent on all the preening and pruning and putting together these events can be channelled towards a cause.

Stuck in this eastern corner of the Indian subcontinent, we seem to live in a cultural wasteland. We claim with pride to the legacies of Tagore and to the ancestral Bengali lineages of the classical maestros of Indian music, and yet, we have not produced any home grown talent in these cultural spheres to be our ambassadors to the world. The reason for all this is lack of patronage. In our quest for a national identity in the post partition Bangladesh, somehow we have missed the boat in nurturing high culture. Other than one or two institutions in the government sphere I cannot recall any other place that promotes growth of talent. Chayanat is an institution that have broken the mould and made a name for itself but its modus operundi is more Tagore influenced than anything else. However, the dance and song traditions of Bengal go beyond and before Tagore and hence my interest in promoting such places.

Every time there are talks of events, the first and foremost complaint is the lack of venue. Other than the Osmani auditorium and Shilpakala Academy, there are few others. However, I just have to argue that whatever meagre and non-international standard facilities we have, it is still enough to get the ball rolling. I know of another institution called Shadhona, founded by a noted dance performer of the country (and at one point, the only one with the mastered skills of Bharat Natyam), with the sole purpose of promoting South Asian classical performances, be it in the genres of vocal, dance or acting performances. Operating out of a small rented premise in Banani, I am proud of that institution and what it has managed to achieve. At the same time, it also pains me to see that we are willing to spend a fortune on Indian megastars and idols, while being reluctant to pay similar homage and financial compensations to our own stars and idols. Our young ones are very biased towards hard rock and heavy metal. That is understandable given the proliferation of technology induced intrusion of the Western world in our lives. Among the elites, it is already a requirement to speak only in English and our children are growing up as Westerners among our midst. The duties of promoting the banner of culture do not lie with government institutions but with us to with the means. However, we now have to attach 'intention' to the means.

I am a big fan of Ayman and Amaan Ali Khan. Coming from a grand lineage of musical performers spanning multiple generations, they could have easily abandoned their heritage and joined MNCs as executives. In fact they have the education to do so and are very much part of the corporate world. Yet, they are accomplished sarod players in their own rights, and they seem to have become the ambassadors for the new generation of young Indians, with their good looks, media-friendly PR, and their undeniable grasp of the sarod which I am sure makes their father proud – it is a sheer pleasure to watch and listen to them play. Why am I mentioning these two? Inevitably, the old tradition of teaching our children how to sing and dance in our households is dying out. I was also told on my face some time ago that teaching kids these days the basics such as the harmonium is pure 'khaat'. Apparently, the trend now is to teach the guitar instead of harmonium and tabla, and piano instead of sarod and sitar. At what point in time did we transform our traditional cultural aspirations from classical to khaat, I am not sure.

To go back to cultural patronage, I see the name of a few, mostly telecom, mobile phone, and tobacco producers. Given that their constituency is the mass market, I am glad that they support the huge rock concerts and festivals. However, like these MNCs, our home grown companies and conglomerates are also cash rich. It is evident from the sponsored golf tournaments, events at the private limited clubs, and the now fashionable spreads in magazines covering all the galas. However, I would like them to divert their attention and some of their funds to promote classical events.

The country being Dhaka-centric, I will also join the milieu and see some institutions of world repute here. I would like to see a symphony, a dance and play theatre that is avant-garde and yet traditional and respected worldwide, a modern museum that is a matter of pleasure and pride to go to, and thriving a performing and visual arts scene that is bigger and better than what it is today. Let the rich go to Bangkok and Singapore for their shopping and return to Dhaka for a bit of culture of our own.

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MK Aaref is an architect. He studied architecture and urban planning at the University of Houston. Later, he specialised in privatisation during his MBA from Aston University, UK. He currently resides and practices in Dhaka.