In defence of a purple sun

The child’s entry into formal education severs this creative learning process. She is seen as a little adult, whose instincts have to be moulded and corrected so she can grow into her ‘rightful’ place in society.

In the India of nine per cent growth, where a newly muscular middle class aggressively flashes its biceps of self-interest, creativity too must pay its way. No exploring the frontiers of individual expression in contests replicated on every TV channel; the child must perfect the art of imitating the original, sung by an adult. Often children attempt songs clearly beyond their voice range (as immature young bodies execute sexual pelvic thrusts and gyrations to adult claps in dance contests). But it makes for high adrenalin soap. Belligerent parents challenge judges for marks not given. Children carry the guilt of having destroyed their parents’ dreams (a luscious seven-figure prize, a brand new car). What happens to these youngsters after their two minutes of deftly marketed fame are over?

In such circumstances, a film like Taare Zameen Par is refreshing. A dyslexic boy with a painterly talent is trapped in a system that expects him to emulate his ‘topper’ brother and join the rat race like his father. Aamir Khan, as the art teacher, believes that adults must help each child discover the world his own way.

Not only that. What does one make of captivating Darsheel Safary, who was allegedly miffed that he got the best child artiste award for his role in Taare.. at a recent function, and not the best actor award a la Shah Rukh Khan? Has anyone got the message? Or perhaps, one should ask, what is the message?

The writer is editor of the children’s website www.pitara.com...