It may seem to deny the aesthetic sense of the male, even as it was not intended to portray men in a bad light. It is the temperament of the feminine that more than often is more familiar with and enthusiastic about beauty. That is to say that the feminine nature in the male person will have a similar sense of appreciation for the arts. It is the nature of the feminine to be gentle, tolerant, compassionate, inclusive, and pleasant in every aspect of life; and the nature of the masculine to be rough, tough, forceful, protective, and apprehensive in every aspect of life. However, it does not refer that aesthetic prevails with the male homosexual person; neither does it submit that the female homosexual person lacks aesthetic sense. It is a universal habit that feminine people are concerned about their appearance, while masculines are more inclined to display their physical prowess. A few candid examples are that ladies usually wake up every morning to take a glimpse at the mirror before anything else; ladies are never hurried about selecting their garments, ornaments, and other beauty-enhancement accessories, and they always have extravagant collections of clothes, shoes, cosmetics, jewellery; few ladies are prone to sacrifice their favourite desire for the upkeep of their vital statistics. Essentially, the female, and specifically the feminine, are always drawn compassionately towards the arts and aesthetic appreciation is natural.
Another common phenomenon in the fashion, dance choreography, and musical theater circuits is that most of the great exponents of the arts are gay men, even as women are greatly influenced. On most occasions, women fashion designers, choreographers or music theater experts have better chemistry with gay men counterparts in their respective activities. A similar situation occurred in Meghalaya, particularly Shillong. The earlier exponent of theater playwrights was Peace Roy Pariat, Kenny Shympa, John Santar Shangpliang, Remy G Phankon, Gilbert Synnah, Reginald Nongkynrih, and few members of the humourous society known as SBUK, where few among them are gay with some of the most innovative, fantastic, and popular stories and performances of their times. In the theater tradition of Jowai town during the ‘Bam Phalar’ festivals, few of the versatile playwrights are gay men and a similar situation prevailed at Mawngap, Nongspung, Lawbah, and a few other villages. The theater tradition among the local schools in Shillong like Pearly Dew, Kiddies Corner, Seven Set, Loreto Convent, St Edmund’s School, St Anthony’s Higher Secondary School, Pine Mount School, and a few others also have gay men as the prominent playwrights. In the same way, some of the talented experts in fashion, dance, and glamour business are gay men with adaptable women counterparts. Primarily, this is the universal trend, which reflects that the feminine is the core of aesthetics, whether in a male or a female person. But one thing that should not be confused is that even the masculine nature possesses aesthetics as an expression and not as a behaviour. The magnificent masculine appearance of certain animals, like the lion, the horse, the stag, or even birds like the eagle, horn-bill or hawk, are majestic; or a muscleman with a robust muscular structure also be aesthetically pleasing to the onlookers; while their arrogant posture and intimidating attitude are not a pleasant experience. The moot point is that one cannot exist without the other. Perhaps, one glaring example is about the sexual activity of the couple, where the purpose of life’s creation is beautiful, while lust or vulgar exposition might be dreadful to most viewers.
Some of the universal nature of every individual person and the prevailing environment in society elsewhere in the world are prevalent in Shillong also, while certain distinct characters of the place are evolving with the current situation relevant in the local context. The Khasi community is not properly exposed to the art world and the local myths and belief sysystemsre such that it restrains proper visual communication. Therefore, the depth of understanding visual art is limited as compared to folk music and other oral cultural, and literary discourses. The relationship between art and society is essential because the sustainability of the art fraternity depends upon the people in the society, although art is being perceived as the intellectual product of the elite. Generally, the artist community always considers that society is not adaptable to their mode of expression and there is a tendency that they remain isolated from the people at large. However, art should be communicable with the public and related to the social situation in the real world, even as some artists could propagate their individual perception of society that might not be compatible with the convention. It is the duty of the artist community to relate to and enlighten society about their thought process with certain conviction and authenticity, in order to be able to be accepted among the people. When the general public embraces art, it is the success of the artist community and this two-way relationship must be sustained at every level. The diverse intellectual capacity of the general public is a challenge for the artist fraternity to overcome with a convincing argument. In the context of the Khasi race, there are innumerable myths and legends that contain an enormous amount of interpretation that the artists could articulate, even as literal interpretation is the dominant factor among the local people. However, the homegrown initiative is certainly more significant than the influence of other cultures, particularly when there is a tendency to interpret in a manner that suits certain subjective notions or improper understanding and in-depth knowledge about the local culture.
Most artists are categorically confined to art and are not conversant with science, commerce or history, but all the streams are interdependent on each other for the sustenance of art. Whereas in other parts of the world, art is not the prerogative of visual and performing arts, because creativity and skill are required in science or history, although commerce is specifically for economic growth and prosperity. However, there is a fine line between humanities and liberal arts that needs to be redefined and avoid confusion over the genuine expression of creativity from the gathering of information; organic originality from a technological replica. Usually, the general public gets carried away with the superiority of technological precision and ignores the veracity of the crude products of the true artist. This is where the artist fraternity is responsible for educating and enlightening people in society about the real sense of aesthetics. It may not be possible to happen immediately and to the entire mass, but a serious attempt and perpetual exercise will definitely result in a certain desired result. The aesthetic atmosphere in other civilised societies is an evolution over a period of time, which grows with intellectual refinement through discussions, debates, and arguments between the artist fraternity and the other intellectuals in the society, including the ordinary citizens with a certain propensity towards the arts. It is a natural process that excellence emerges out of proper nourishment, thorough cultivation and rigorous enhancement through intellectual skill.
Throughout the years, Shillong as the erstwhile capital city of the entire Northeastern region including Sylhet district during the pre-independence era had encountered various complexities of social situation including art. The colonial rulers were missionaries and mercenaries with ulterior motives to further their selfish interests, with hardly any contribution to art. The middle-class migrants under British colonial supremacy were subordinate to administrative assistants and unscrupulous merchants that could derive the leftover resources neglected by colonial rulers. Actually, higher education and advanced career prospects are the homegrown initiatives of a few brilliant, articulate and rebellious indigenous inhabitants, which could overcome the intimidation and sabotage of the British colonial rulers. The legacy of colonial remnants is the surplus resources and cultural hegemony imposed by the so-called advanced civilisation, which the subsequent generations cherish till today. The system of administration in all spheres of social, political, cultural, educational, and commercial structures was enforced with foreign methods adulterated by local customs and practices. Nevertheless, there are treasured relics of the colonial heritages that have contributed to the efficient and ideal resources for posterity.
After the departure of the colonial rulers, the indigenous inhabitants were discriminated against by the migrant populace and the inherited administrative agency of the Indian Republic in every aspect of social, political, cultural, educational, and commercial enterprises. During that transitional period, the other communities progressed on all fronts and deprived the indigenous inhabitants of every legitimate right, except the traditional institution of local governance, which was accorded constitutional sanction. Without digression to other aspects of the socio-political situation; there is a need to analyse and emphasise on the development of art in the territory. It is a known fact that every art expression is tremendously influenced by western traditions at the behest of Christian institutions, that even the followers of the indigenous faith also are overwhelmed with the supremacy of western tradition. The situation is well manifested in performing arts, particularly music; while visual arts is nascent and germinated from the bosom of the austere western visual vocabulary. The circumstances have led to an undesirable trend of embracing the western flavour and ridiculing the inherent local elements of visual expression, thereby isolated from their native folklore and distanced from the mainstream Indian tradition. The seclusion of the indigenous inhabitants from the realm of art has certain factors that require social introspection. The migrant communities that have settled in the territory are confined within their respective domain, including art activities.
