What an article!!! Cheeky of Washington Post to do this. What hurt me most was the lady who recognised Joshua, YET gave him a 20? What was in her mind?
This article reminds me of the experience I have during the The December music season in Chennai. Some of the best artists in India play here for a pittance. When I toured the season the first time a few years ago, I was shocked at the way people behaved. The halls would be noisy with people moving in and out, cell phones ringing all the time, and front seaters talking to each other loudly. At the end they would all flock to the stage to shake the hand of the artist they just insulted. I have many friends who jump from one session to another. What do they achieve other than keeping to a timetable and boasting to others that they were in this session or that depending upon which session gets praised?
I know a superb Barathanatyam dancer Ms. Alarmel Valli quite well. Extremely well educated, she is the recipient of numerous awards and has a personal painting done by MF Hussain. After each performance, she used to be in tenterhooks worrying what the press (particularly one newspaper) will write about it. The first few times I kept quite in deference to her greatness. Then one day over a cup of tea, I was asking her about knowledge of dancing, the movements, and the origins of Barathanatyam etc. We both realised that she was one of the few people who had real intricate knowledge of the art. Then I asked her why she was so worried what someone wrote about her. Her answer was that she does not dance in isolation, and that for every artist, appreciation is extremely important. But at the same time I did notice that from that day onwards she started dancing a bit more to herself, and of course received more praises and more awards.
We live in a strange world.
Cheers