Habib Tanvir is no more. If you never saw his play, you missed a great experience. Unfortunately a play can not be preserved like a film or a painting so it is rather difficult to recreate the experience. This loss is permanent now.
Habib used Indian idioms , folk traditions and typical desi traditional music in his work with style , understanding and with telling effect. AS such his contribution to theatrical arts is immense. The great thing that distinguishes his work is the passion and zeal with which he used his symbols, his stories and his folk genre. He was true to his traditions rooted in Madhya pradesh and Chattisgarh. He actually enriched them and by bringing them to people in general he helped preserve them. Yet his plays were not a simple copy of a traditional performance or a classical story. He infused new meanings, new thought processes and concepts in them. He raised contemporary issues, he raised important concerns and he had his feet firmly planted on earth.That is what makes great art out of a craft. Your intellectual input and your passion and your feel for your subject coupled with your technical craftsmanship is what distinguishes great art .Whether you liked his marxist slant or not, Habib tanvir was among the greats and there is no doubt about it.
He reminds one of another "great", Husain. who also used Indian motifs and cultural symbols in his art . Alas ! without passion and without any attempt to infuse any intellectual concept to it. Husain's use of Saraswati , Durga , and sita icons or even ganapati for that matter were just a sales trick. He painted what he thought would sell. He wa
s of course right. He continues to sell for staggering sums. It is however just plain craftsmanship. Very much like a street vendor who sells diwali cards in october, next month he sells christmas cards and next week new year greetings. Whatever sells! It is good business but not necessarily great art.
Habib must have realized early on that he might never become rich doing what he is doing but he did not betray his art form. It sure was not easy to use Chatisgarhi music , ethos and even dialect to perform and still be economically viable. habib strived all his life and Habib made folk mainstream or I should say acceptable to cultural czars. I personally was part of a long workshop conducted by Habib where I had the occasion to see this great master at work and also design a set for one of his plays. The biggest compliment I can think of at his passing away is that he was for art what husain can not be .
Habib used Indian idioms , folk traditions and typical desi traditional music in his work with style , understanding and with telling effect. AS such his contribution to theatrical arts is immense. The great thing that distinguishes his work is the passion and zeal with which he used his symbols, his stories and his folk genre. He was true to his traditions rooted in Madhya pradesh and Chattisgarh. He actually enriched them and by bringing them to people in general he helped preserve them. Yet his plays were not a simple copy of a traditional performance or a classical story. He infused new meanings, new thought processes and concepts in them. He raised contemporary issues, he raised important concerns and he had his feet firmly planted on earth.That is what makes great art out of a craft. Your intellectual input and your passion and your feel for your subject coupled with your technical craftsmanship is what distinguishes great art .Whether you liked his marxist slant or not, Habib tanvir was among the greats and there is no doubt about it.
He reminds one of another "great", Husain. who also used Indian motifs and cultural symbols in his art . Alas ! without passion and without any attempt to infuse any intellectual concept to it. Husain's use of Saraswati , Durga , and sita icons or even ganapati for that matter were just a sales trick. He painted what he thought would sell. He wa
s of course right. He continues to sell for staggering sums. It is however just plain craftsmanship. Very much like a street vendor who sells diwali cards in october, next month he sells christmas cards and next week new year greetings. Whatever sells! It is good business but not necessarily great art.Habib must have realized early on that he might never become rich doing what he is doing but he did not betray his art form. It sure was not easy to use Chatisgarhi music , ethos and even dialect to perform and still be economically viable. habib strived all his life and Habib made folk mainstream or I should say acceptable to cultural czars. I personally was part of a long workshop conducted by Habib where I had the occasion to see this great master at work and also design a set for one of his plays. The biggest compliment I can think of at his passing away is that he was for art what husain can not be .
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