மன்னிப்புக் கேட்கும் பக்குவமற்ற தமிழ் நாளிதழ்கள்

தவறுதலாகச் செய்தி வெளியிட நேர்ந்தால், அந்தத் தவற்றைத் திருத்திக் கொள்ள மறுப்பதும், மன்னிப்புக் கோராமல், தவற்றைக் கண்டுகொள்ளாமல் செல்வதும் தமிழ் நாளிதழ்களுக்கே உரிய பண்பு.  எனது நினைவுக்கு எட்டியவரை, கடந்த ஐந்தாண்டுகளில் எந்தத்  நாளிதழும் எந்த மறுப்பு விளக்கத்தையும் வெளியிட்டதில்லை.
இந்து நாளிதழில் நேற்று  தலையங்கத்திற்கெதிரான  (OP-ED Page) பக்கத்தில், ஒரு மறுப்பு காணப்பட்டது.
ஏப்ரல் 16 அன்று தி இந்து நாளிதழில் வெளியான "India in Venice Biennale for the first time in 116 years", என்ற செய்தி தவறானது என்பதை, யுனெஸ்கோவின் நல்லெண்ணத் தூதுவரான மதன்ஜித்சிங் ஆதாரத்துடன் அளித்த தகவலை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்டு இந்த மறுப்பு வெளியிடப் பட்டிருந்தது.
116 ஆண்டுகளில் இதுவே முதன் முறையென்று  Rana Siddiqui Zaman என்ற செய்தியாளர் செய்தி வெளியிட, அந்தச்
செய்தி தவறு என்று வாதிடுவதே இந்த மறுப்பின் நோக்கமாகும்.
எப்படி இத்தகைய ஒரு செய்தியை உறுதி செய்யாமல் வெளியிட்டார்கள் என்ற் சந்தேகம் இயல்பாக எழுந்தாலும், தவறை ஒப்புக் கொண்ட இயல்பு, கண்டு கொள்ள வேண்டியதும், கவனிக்க வேண்டியதுமாகும்.
தமிழ் நாளிதழ்கள் 1970அல்லது 80 வரை இது போன்ற பல நற்ப்ண்புகளைக் கொண்டிருந்ததைப் பல ஆய்வுகள் நிரூபித்துள்ளன.குறிப்பாக, 1990களுக்குப் பின்பு, தமிழ் நாளிதழ்கள் முழுவதும் வணிகமயமான பின்பு, இது போன்ற இயல்புகளை இழந்து விட்ட்ன.

தி இந்து இதழில் 14 04 2011 அன்று வெளியான செய்தி இது :

India in Venice Biennale for the first time in 116 yearsRana Siddiqui Zaman

It took 116 years for India to be featured in the Venice Biennale. This year finally, India will have its own national pavilion at the prestigious Biennale to be inaugurated on June 3, 2011, confirms a high-ranking official at the Lalit Kala Akademi.

India will be one of the 94 countries in this world famous art event that saw its inception in 1895.

India will find space at the centre of the venue called “Arsenal Area,” which enjoys the highest number of visitors. The venue was so named as the area was an arsenal shipyard during 15th and 16th centuries and is, therefore, of historical importance. Half of the total area of 50,000 square metres is dedicated to art expositions.

The theme for the different national pavilions this year is “Illuminations.”

For the Indian pavilion, famous art critic Ranjit Hoskote has been appointed the curator. He has selected four artists from different genres and locations with differing perceptions and artistic expressions to participate in this prestigious exposition. These include printmaker and sculptor Zarina Hashmi of Aligarh; a husband-and-wife team from the North East, Mriganka Madhukaillya and Sonal Jain, who are known for working in public spaces; Gigi Scaria, Delhi-based painter and video artist; and Praneet Soi, a mixed media artist who works both in Amsterdam and Kolkata. They are all artists in the age group 30 to 40 years.

The theme of their collective works of contemporary video, sculptures, and other mixed media is titled “Everyone agrees; it's about to explode.” The artists will prepare most of their creations at the venue, almost nothing is going ready made from India. Apart from them, photographer-artist Dayanita Singh has also been invited to participate in the Biennale.

It is interesting to note that few years ago the artistic director of Venice Biennale Robert Storr visited India and invited the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) to participate in the Biennale. For some reasons it did not work out that time. Jawahar Sircar, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, reasons: “In my view, it was the lack of imagination on the part of the NGMA that we couldn't participate. We would have spent only about Rs.17 lakh to go to Venice then. Now it will cost us Rs. 60 lakh and Rs.1 crore has been sanctioned as we want to ensure there is no compromise on the quality of our artists and their works. Fortunately, I had the full support of Union Culture Minister Kumari Shailja. She was appreciative of Mr. Hoskote's presentation and it was her proactive attitude that made it possible.”

On how this participation became possible this time has its own share of stories. Lalit Kala chairperson Ashok Vajpayee says that on his return from Venice a year ago he wrote to Mr. Sircar that India should participate in the Biennale. Mr. Sircar agrees that Mr. Vajpayee's proposal was before him but hastens to add that in the Culture Ministry there was the view that India's visual art was very much in demand and it did not need a certificate from abroad authenticating its calibre. Hence, any such participation was not looked at with great enthusiasm. But now he acknowledges that international recognition helps. “It is a fact that it is because of private galleries, individual artists and other art institutions that Indian art has been internationally recognised. Public institutions in India cannot take credit for it. We are now exploiting this opportunity,” he adds.

source : THE HINDU Website  

16 04 2011 அன்று மேற்கண்ட செய்திக்கு வெளியான மறுப்பு இது :

Madanjeet Singh rebuts ‘first time' claim on Indian art at the Venice Biennale

— PHOTO: MADANJEET SINGH

The Indian pavilion at the Biennale, International Art Exhibition in Venice, held in 1953. Sir Ronald Adam and the former Director-General of UNESCO, Luther Evans, are seen with Madanjeet Singh (right). With reference to the report by Rana Siddiqui Zaman, headlined “India in Venice Biennale for the first time in 116 years,” published in The Hindu on April 14, 2011, Madanjeet Singh, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and former Indian diplomat, writes:
I was astonished to read the report [claiming that this is the first time India will be featured in the Venice Biennale]. This is clearly false information. Soon after I joined as cultural attaché at the Indian Embassy in Rome in 1952, I had organised the first ever exhibition of Indian art at the 1953 Biennale International Exhibition in Venice. The exhibits included 60 works of art by young artists such as Husain, Raza Gaitonde, Ram Kumar and others that I had personally collected in Calcutta, Madras, Bombay and Delhi.
I had also managed to get two paintings each of the veteran artists, Jamini Roy and Amrita Sher-Gill, overriding the opposition of the Director of the Museum of Modern Art in New Delhi, at the intervention of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It was a resounding success as 44 works of art were sold despite intense competition from artists worldwide.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Ambassador B.R. Sen and visited by eminent personalities such as the art critic Sir Ronald Adam and UNESCO Director-General Luther Evans.
The accompanying photograph shows, in addition to those mentioned in the caption, an official of the Indian Ministry of Education in New Delhi, whose name I forget.
May I request you to bring this to the attention of the readers of The Hindu?
source : The HINDU Website