Art being a premium subject and must not be considered as Just-a-Subject

अनन्तपदविन्यासरचना सरसा कवेः।

बुधो यदि समीपस्थो न कुजन्यः पुरो यदि॥

Meaning:

A poet’s beautiful words attain greatness when near wise men, not when placed before the unworthy.

Dear Readers,

Namaste! Striving ahead with the concept and curation of the Amrapali Magazine has been great from last month. I’m truly grateful to each individual and organization who subscribed to this magazine. All your blessings and appreciation for this unique initiative confirms progress and global acceptance. A lot happening from our end to establish art as a premium concept and not as Just - a - Subject. We are truly grateful to each one who could make it to the First Print Soireé of this magazine on January 29th held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The invited distinguished speakers enlightened us all with their terrific experiences.

I hereby give a shoutout to Shri Prasantajyoti Goswami, Chairman, Jorhat Development Authority, Jorhat (Assam) for supporting our effort and becoming our first ‘Founder Patron’ and extending his immediate support towards our effort is truly unbelievable.

We are expanding this platform wherein arts and culture is not just found but discussed, compared and debated. As because arts and culture are interwoven with associated subjects like history, archaeology, society, anthropology, psychology, etc. hence having an in-depth understanding about it and how it effects and implies on grooming of our traditional arts, its practices and the society at large is necessary.

Civilizations unfold with time and changes intrude with varied prosperous and bitter phases due to several historical reasons. Today, what we call it traditional might have been modern in that era or thought. And surely in next another fifty years upfront, a lot would be faced by our next generation considering our present tradition and rituals to be useless and question its logic. In all of its progress, practicing artistes and especially the women of the society would play a major role in preserving the rituals and culture.

For culture stands for everything that is representational like food, cooking techniques, draping traditional attire, weaving motives, cultivating silk, home remedies for beauty and health, Swara, Dhwani and Mantra for spiritual bliss, etc.

When societies undergo rapid cultural and demographic change, younger generations often begin to re-examine traditions, rituals, and inherited practices. What one generation considers sacred or meaningful, the next generation may see as irrational, outdated, or unnecessary—especially in an age shaped by science, technology, and globalization.

This happens due to:

• Scientific and Rational Thinking: Modern education encourages questioning and evidence-based reasoning. Rituals that were once accepted without explanation may now be questioned.

• Digital and Global Culture: Through the internet and social media, young people are exposed to many different cultural systems. This comparison often makes them rethink the traditions they grew up with.

• Changing Lifestyles: Urban life, work pressures, and nuclear families leave less time for elaborate rituals and customs that were designed for slower, community-centered societies.

• Shift from Collective to Solo Identity: Traditional societies emphasize community duty and collective identity. Modern societies emphasize individual choice, personal belief, and self-expression.

The cultural demographic change is becoming crucial in protecting local culture due to migration, birth rates of different groups, urbanization, culture mixing and generational change. Due to whatever reason, no individual or groups or communities like to remain being minority, as this weakens their establishment and cultural ethics. That is the reason we find various national, regional, ethnic groups/communities in several parts of the globe. This somehow strengthens the ethnicity of such minor residents in its respective places but, threatens the native culture.

History shows that, traditions usually do not vanish entirely. Instead, they go through three possible transformations:

1] REINTERPRETATION: Old rituals are given new meanings.

2] SIMPLIFICATION: Complex traditions become shorter or symbolic.

3] REVIVAL: Sometimes younger generations rediscover traditions and revive them with pride.

Traditions do not survive because they are old, they survive because every generation discovers a new mean.

Women play a major role in shaping, preserving, and transforming traditions, especially during periods of cultural and demographic change. Throughout history, women have often been the primary transmitters of culture within families and communities. While institutions like schools or governments influence culture at a broader level, it is within the household that traditions are most consistently practiced—and women have historically been at the heart of that space.

Women are the custodians of cultural transmission. From childhood onward, many cultural practices are learned at home through language, food habits, festivals, songs, stories, and rituals. Mothers and grandmothers often introduce children to these practices. Through daily routines such as cooking traditional dishes, teaching prayers, narrating folktales, or preparing for festivals, women pass cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. In this way, they act as living bridges between past and future.

Women are the interpreters of traditions, they do not merely preserve traditions, they also interpret and adapt them. When social conditions change whether through urbanization, migration, or modern education, women frequently reshape rituals to fit contemporary life.

Culture is more than following rituals. It is also about values, compassion, discipline, respect, and community responsibility. Women are the educators of values and agents of cultural evolution. These values are often instilled through everyday guidance and moral storytelling within the home. Women therefore influence how younger generations understand the meaning behind cultural practices.