Humpty-Drumty
I am not in the business of getting offended but occasionally the cockroach in me raises its antennae when it detects something that is feeling not quite right. Take for instance, this recent post on Instagram by ICCR for a forthcoming mega event, it would seem. Here is what the antennae detected:
Really? Instruments (unprotected by any cases/covers) merrily bumpity-bumping down an escalator? Yes, yes, I get the profound symbolism in this post - the djembe representing Africa and the lone tabla representing India and at Bharat Mandapam shall the twain meet, and all that. But I can’t get myself to congratulate the designer for this post, or the officialdom that gave it the green signal. Needless to say, neither am I in favor of stirring up a posse of chest thumping, fang-baring, expletive hurling individuals to ‘protest’ this insensitive and rather silly post.
But where are all the easily offended folks who are usually so active in such situations? What about artistes who post prolifically on social media during Saraswati Puja or Dussehra when they worship instruments as manifestations of the Divine ? What ? No affronted posts, no arched eyebrows, no threats of dire consequences to those who treat instruments like this? No param-param-parampara-ing ? No rain-rain-go away-ing ?
The silence is deafening but also self-explanatory. If anyone were to cockroach on about this post, they would automatically be obliterated from the ever growing queue of artistes waiting to get an overseas tour with ICCR. And that’s fair enough. Artistes must decide on their priorities and it is entirely their choice to stick their necks out or not.
As for social media teams and brand managers, in the many decades that I have been performing, there have been many incidents of insensitive designing that I have had to grapple with. A very well known media company hosting my concert in Delhi asked me for photographs to use for their event publicity. Photographs were duly provided and soon enough, an email with the proposed design was delivered in my inbox. There I was in black and white splendor (although I had provided color photographs) with just my bindi in bright, cheerful red ! Across the red background of my bindi was splashed the brand logo ! Everyone in the hosting team thought it looked ‘cute’ and were in shock when I put my foot down and declared resolutely that I would rather not perform if the design was not changed. Cockroach, me :)
