"yahan pe younger generation ke artist... ab unko sochne mein takleef hoti hai"
Outlook's Chinki Sinha speaks with Masood Hussain, a Kashmiri artist. He has previously collaborated with Irish writer Gabriel Rosenstock on 'Walk with Gandhi', illustrated by his watercolor paintings.
He speaks about silence in Kashmir, abrogation of Article 370 and desire to integrate with mainstream artists.
Videographer: Romana Manpreet
Editor: Divya Tiwari
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#Kashmir #Artist #MasoodHussain #Article370 #KashmiriArtist
Outlook's Chinki Sinha speaks with Masood Hussain, a Kashmiri artist. He has previously collaborated with Irish writer Gabriel Rosenstock on 'Walk with Gandhi', illustrated by his watercolor paintings.
He speaks about silence in Kashmir, abrogation of Article 370 and desire to integrate with mainstream artists.
Videographer: Romana Manpreet
Editor: Divya Tiwari
Follow us:
Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/
X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia
Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia
#Kashmir #Artist #MasoodHussain #Article370 #KashmiriArtist
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NewsTranscript
00:00My main topic is Kashmir, so I'm just trying to understand our origin, our history, because
00:14as far as I'm concerned, we have to fully understand Kashmir, what our identity was,
00:24what we were, and what direction we are going in terms of the situation at the moment.
00:35Nothing is normal.
00:37You will say, what is normal in Kashmir, nothing is normal here.
00:44So when did you start to realize that there is a silence?
00:47There is a kind of…
00:48See, I'll tell you, immediately after abrogation of Article 370, I saw a lot of change.
01:01I cannot call it a positive change.
01:05For me, this change is very negative.
01:10And why?
01:12In the sense that there are a lot of things in this.
01:19I asked a lot of people, they think that we have lost almost everything.
01:30Yeah, that's the sense I also got.
01:33So there are a lot of things in this, I don't know.
01:37A lot of people say, let us live the way we are living.
01:43So it's difficult.
01:47People are stuck in a very strange situation.
01:56Now we think that if we talk, maybe we won't have a problem.
02:05Also, another thing that you were a teacher also.
02:07Now, art in Kashmir for instance.
02:10How does art work in a zone like this?
02:14Where there is silence, where there is conflict.
02:17See, I'll tell you, the confusion is in the younger generation of artists.
02:28That is there.
02:30So, now they find it difficult to think.
02:38Why?
02:40I don't know.
02:42Now there are a lot of issues in this.
02:47For example, the artist community here is not able to come in the mainstream.
02:59We want to connect with the community.
03:04We want to connect with the mainstream.
03:08But it's not happening.
03:11When the abrogation happened, it was like a blackout.
03:15The value was cut off from everything.
03:17In fact, people didn't know what was going to happen.
03:19How did you pass that time?
03:21Like in the sense as an artist.
03:23See, I'll tell you.
03:25There was a lot of silence as well.
03:27Mosques were shut.
03:29There was no Azaan.
03:31I'll tell you what happened.
03:34Before that, I was working with an Irish writer.
03:42I was just doing a book on Gandhi.
03:46So, I did all the illustrations.
03:53So, without knowing that person.
03:57So, we used to exchange those.
04:00We used to send haikus.
04:02I used to make illustrations on that.
04:05So, the day the last illustration was completed.
04:10After that, the internet shut down.
04:16So, after that, I don't know what happened to Gandhi's book.
04:23After a long gap, I got a paper cutting from somebody from Delhi.
04:30They had already printed the book in Ireland.
04:38So, I didn't know anything.
04:40Then he told me that there is a book in which your illustrations have been printed.
04:48So, that is titled Walk with Gandhi.
04:52So, at that time, I got to know that the book had been printed.
04:58So, now you can imagine how cut off we were.
05:06The last time I was in Goa, it was a festival.
05:12So, there, somebody asked me a question.
05:16See, I have done a lot of work on Gandhi.
05:20So, one of my books was also released.
05:25So, he had a question.
05:27Where will Gandhi fit in Kashmir in today's world?
05:35I said, see Gandhi had come here.
05:39So, what he said.
05:43He said that the whole country is burning in communal violence.
05:53And I see only Kashmir, which has a ray of hope.
05:59And I haven't seen violence here.
06:03So, in today's world, Gandhi doesn't fit anywhere.
06:09And see, the problems here.
06:15For example, if we take media.
06:18So, I met a few people from the media.
06:24They asked me, why don't you paint something on Kashmir, which is the current situation.
06:32So, I told them, why don't you write?
06:38So, they said, we have to be very careful.
06:44We are afraid.
06:49So, that is the case with the artist community also.
06:55There is nothing that you hear except development.
06:58What development are you talking about?
07:01We hear that Kashmir is happy, Kashmir is developed.
07:04There is a lot of tourism in Kashmir.
07:07Tourism is not the only development.
07:13See, there are so many other things.
07:21What I see is that there are a lot of people who have become depressed.
07:30Almost 99% are involved in this.
07:36And I am also one of the victims.
07:40Our youth, what I have seen, they have taken up drugs.
07:50So, it's because of this situation that we are having this problem.
07:59I remember when I was working on this Kashmir Terminal,
08:04there used to be a psychiatry hospital here with very few doctors.
08:12And the patients were also very few.
08:16Now, at this time, I go for my treatment.
08:21Which hospital?
08:24Renawari.
08:26I think you must visit that place.
08:28What are the problems there?
08:32There is so much rush here.
08:35And the doctors who treat these patients,
08:42there are no appointments for 15 days.
08:50In Kashmir, they put a number on the sheep and goats.
08:56So, you can say that Kashmiris are the same.
08:59They put a stamp on the sheep and goats.
09:03So, we are like that.