Budget 2014: Applaud art & culture, give it a boost, says Mahindra & Mahindra's Jay Shah

By Jay Shah

"Culture is widening of the mind and of the spirit." Pt Jawarharlal Nehru

Culture is a great leveler, a generous teacher and a builder of connections and conversations. Art and Culture promote understanding of the other's perspective in a non-confrontational way. They cement relationships, they build bonds and they sustain creativity. Culture nurtures, nourishes and rejuvenates.

The importance of Culture - whether it is the Arts or the Humanities - in a society pregnant with a promise of growth and prosperity cannot be over emphasized. It was with pleasure that we welcomed its brief reference in the Company Bill mandating corporates to set aside a percentage of their profits for Corporate Social Responsibility activities. And it is with greater pleasure we welcome a recent clarification that CSR activities linked with culture could be "liberally" interpreted.

In keeping with this positive trend, here is my wish list on Culture from the Modi Government:

1) Encourage successful Arts organizations to teach capacity building, funding and curatorial skills to smaller or struggling theatre, dance or music outfits.

2) Incentivize the private sector in setting up Institutes for Arts Management. The Art community sorely lacks management professionals and could use strategic, marketing and financial skills to ensure their sustenance.

3) Lessen the Entertainment Tax burden on all Arts related programming in big and small cities alike. This will increase the viability of organizing art events and benefit the artists and audiences alike.

4) Encourage grassroots level Arts organizations in reaching out to municipal schools and using theatre, music and other forms of performing arts as a tool to communicate and educate.

5) Support all schools, municipal and private, in having strong Arts curricula that gives the options to students, thus inclined, an outlet for artistic expression.

6) Have a liberal approach to promoting culture in the global context. Allow exchange of cultural groups between India and other countries. It is through these international cultural exchanges will we be able to have mutual understanding, mutual respect and meaningful conversations.

And finally to quote John F Kennedy, "If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him"

(Jay Shah is the Head - Cultural Outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd)