Some are of the opinion that art and literature are supposed to fight against the ills and evils of the society, whereas some others say, art and literature are personal expressions meant for entertaining the people.

• How do you look at these two view points?

It has always been a controversy whether art and literature have some social role, or they are for their sake only. I feel that art and literature have a social role to play by criticizing and highlighting the evils of the society. This can be done in an entertaining way too. 45

When it comes to their responsibility of fighting against the evils of the society, it is right to look at the history of the world. We can cite innumerable examples to prove that art and literature have been instrumental to initiating changes and remedying social evils. For example, Indian freedom struggle was a success because the thinkers, artists and writers of those times had been able to project the evils of aggression, and people were able to respond to the calls of the freedom fighters by way of messages carried across the society via art and literature. 90

However, there is no denying the fact that art and literature are personal expressions. It is true that people go creative, and produce arts and literatures in order to express their feelings and thoughts. These feelings and thoughts have some social relevance and all their contributions naturally reflect the society they live in. The cartoons of R.K Lexman, the renowned Indian cartoonist, are typical examples. He has been able to express his feelings and fears he had of his society through his hilarious cartoon strips. However, there are some personal creations like music, dance etc, and they be viewed as something just to entertain people. 90

To conclude it, it is right to say that art and literature have always been powerful enough to make changes in the society and they have helped eradicate several social evils. It goes without saying that some of them are just for entertaining people. 40

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Jaypees.doc. exam-going. 16/02/11