The Artiste and Plagiarism
One often hears artistes ruing that their work was unceremoniously copied and sometimes promoted on such a large scale that the original piece of work not only received zero recognition but was also trashed as a mimic! The world of Indian classical arts with respect to plagiarism and copyrights (if ever in existence) is a blurry one. To attain clarity of vision in the current scenario seems a distant dream even as I prod individuals, dance companies and Gurus to help clear the haze. Let us begin by acknowledging that traditionally, Indian classical arts, especially dance has been alien to the world of ownership rights. Be it poetry, music or choreography, the inherent nature of the art form has always allowed a multitude of people to enjoy a creation. Within the field of classical music, many composers introduced tell tale signatures within their compositions as a way to safeguard their creation from being claimed by others. This was probably how far the idea of ownership went. Beyo...