Intent of demonetisation should not be criticised: Joshi

Noted poet-lyricist Prasoon Joshi today said the "intent" of demonetisation should not be criticised as such steps will have to be taken to end corruption which is more than just financial in nature.
Speaking at a session here on the last day of the tenth edition of the JLF, Joshi said no country can be proud of itself unless it safeguards its vulnerable people.
"A country can only be proud of itself if it can protect its vulnerable or handicapped people. We talk of corruption. There has been a lot of criticism of demonetisation, but I think the intent of the demonetisation move should not be criticised.

"Someone will have to take such steps against corruption. It is not only about financial corruption, but also emotional and ideological corruptions," he said.
Joshi said he felt happy when Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature last year as it was a step towards bridging the artistic gap.
"Bob Dylan's Nobel prize became a debatable thing for people, but I was happy because it bridged the gap between high art and so called low art, which we divided.

"They say film songs are pedestrian, but ours is perhaps the only country where pure practitioners of poetry are connected to popular music and they have saved literature by proving their literary merit," Joshi said.

Noting that poetry earlier chronicled history and was part of the daily discourse, Joshi said now from poems to folk songs everything has become a part of film industry.
"The artistic forms got overpowered by the appeal of Bollywood's audio-visual medium. We don't have a music industry. We have got a minuscule parallel music industry that is why film industry has an immense responsibility as everything now remains confined to it."
He said the poetry which once was a reflection of a particular era had vanished from day to day life even though the poetic soirees have increased manifold.
Joshi said it had become important to pay attention to the literary merit of film lyrics as poetry in today's time is predominantly consumed through them.

"Poetry can't be fast food. It will take its time to cook. ..Anything that makes people think and moves them qualifies as 'timeless'."
He said people should take a stand and reject the lyrics which objectify or demean women rather than expect songwriters to refrain from writing such songs.
"It is up to the people to reject such songs. If they don't endorse it, they will not be popular hits. If you respect something, it will reflect in your work. In my poetry, there is no disrespect towards women and the credit for it goes to my upbringing."
About making profit from using an artist form, Joshi said there is a difference between profit and profiteering.

"When we create art out of social issues and it makes a lot of money, that money should be shared among people who had been working on that issue. It is very important," he said.
"If you use a tribe's music to earn money from it, it is important to share that money with that tribe because the music is part of their culture. Nobody should be able to exploit the existing cultures," he said.