UPSC Essentials | Experts Talk— Devdutt Pattanaik on why and how should future bureaucrats study Art & Culture

Know the three frameworks to study art and culture, and answers to other commonly asked questions for UPSC Civil Services Exam from Devdutt Pattanaik. Tune in every Thursday at 8 PM on YouTube channel of The Indian Express to learn more on Art & Culture.

Devdutt Pattanaik talked about various topics ranging from why should we study art and culture in UPSC to what the practical utilities of studying art and culture in becoming a good civil servant. (File)

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Is there a point in studying a subject if you do not know how is it relevant to both, for your exams and the future?

Devdutt Pattanaik, in conversation with Manas Srivastava, shares a fresh perspective on Art and Culture which aspirants will find essential for their exams and life. Let’s know…

About our Expert: Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned writer who specialises in mythology and culture. His work majorly revolves around mythology in modern times, especially in areas of management, governance, and leadership. He has authored over 50 books and over 1000 columns, with bestsellers such as My Gita, Jaya, Sita, Shyam, Business Sutra, and the 7 Secret Series. He is known for his TED talks, podcasts and his shows on television. His book- Indian Culture, Art & Heritage for Civil Services Exam (Pearson) is very popular among UPSC Aspirants.

Devdutt, in a new YouTube series with The Indian Express — Art & Culture with Devdutt Pattanaik takes the aspirants through many levels and dimensions of various themes of the subject. The objective is to provide value-added, knowledge-enriching, and thought-provoking content that UPSC aspirants will find relevant in all three levels of the examination – prelim, main, and personality tests. Students/Aspirants/Art and Culture enthusiasts get an opportunity to get their questions answered by Devdutt through video or text conversation. These interactions with students in the form of questions will be an important component of our series. For this, tune in every Thursday, at 8 pm.

Manas: In today’s world when everyone talks of utility and benefits, what is the utility of Art & Culture for civil services aspirants or future bureaucrats?

Devdutt Pattanaik: To appreciate the value of Art and Culture, we have to observe the lives of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) or people of Indian origin who have migrated to other countries. Many move for better economic prospects. When their children are born, they are worried about why their children are not as they are and how they can make them Indian. This is when you realise the value of art and culture because what parents give their children informally and unconsciously are art and culture.

That is what a future bureaucrat is responsible for. Because, going forward, when we say we are an independent country, what is it that we want to be independent for? We want to ensure that our art and our culture go forward, benefit us and benefit the world at large. This includes our language, stories, songs, dances, theatres, paintings, literature, etc.

Do we want our cultures to end up in museums which happens to many tribal communities around the world? The culture of such communities is taken over by progress and development and the only memories of those tribals can be found in museums – the houses that they built, tools that they use, the language they speak, their technologies, jewellery, history, customs, practices, deities, etc.

Ask yourself, do you want to end up India in a museum? Or do you want India’s culture to thrive in the future? That is what a future bureaucrat is bound to protect. A country is not just its resources, its wealth, and its natural wealth. A country’s cultural wealth is equally important and that is the job of a bureaucrat to protect.

Manas: Since the syllabus is not detailed, how would you decode the content of Art & Culture for UPSC?

Devdutt Pattanaik: It is relatively simple. Sit down in your house and look around. What is the culture of your house and how will you express it? You will notice some of the following things which you should list down:

1. The Architecture of the house

2. The language your family uses

3. The food in your kitchen

4. The customs followed in your house – daily, weekly, monthly, and annually

5. The artifacts in your house – photographs, jewellery, books, etc.

Some things are changing such as currencies, technologies and many other things are not.

You will realise that art and culture are not necessarily outside but in your house. This is something important to remember. Now, ask yourself what is culture? Culture is the way of life that humans create to live a decent life. Animals don’t create cultures, humans do!

In Hindi we say, ‘Roti, Kapda aur Makaan’. Roti is not just food but anything which is of economic importance. Kapda is just a cloth but jewellery or any other article we want to cover and decorate our bodies. Makaan can be related to architecture, urban planning, and designs of temples, palaces, etc. Then, there are also transports. We have built a new Parliament. It is a cultural expression of our democracy. Statues of leaders are also expressions of culture. Do you realise that culture is something we are still creating? Some of them are kept in museums while others are a part of our day-to-day lives.

What do we create and present to express ourselves as Indians when we travel abroad: the clothes, the songs, the dances, the language? All these things have to be listed out.

Manas: How should Art and Culture be studied for competitive exams?

Devdutt Pattanaik: Whenever a cultural or an artistic object is presented in front of me, I follow three kinds of framework:

1. Desha, Kaala, Guna framework

*Desha*	Geography- Where was the object created?
*Kaala*	History- When was it created?
*Guna*	Qualities- What exactly is it?

2. For Guna, I go deeper and follow another framework: Satyam, Shivam, and Sundaram framework

*Satyam*	When and where was cultural object created? (factual)
*Shivam*	What purpose was it used for? (economic, decorative, etc.)
*Sundaram*	What is the artistic aspect like? ( crude, refined, related to other cultures, etc.)

3. Lakshmi, Durga, Saraswati framework

*Lakshmi*	Is there any economic story that the object tells?
*Durga*	Is there a political relevance or symbolism behind the object?
*Saraswati*	What is the knowledge we acquire- philosophical, technological, etc.?

These tools help us understand Art and Culture in a better way and thus I use them.

Manas: What are the key points to remember while writing an Art & Culture answer?

Devdutt Pattanaik: It is related to the previous question in the sense that our answer reflects how we have studied. Your answers depending on the question should touch upon history, geography, economy, polity, philosophy, and aesthetic factors behind it.

Let’s take an example, if the question is to comment on the Chola bronzes: Nataraja image, your answer must talk about when and where it was created. Which material is it made up of? Does it tell us about technological advancement along with artistic know-how? How is it different from other forms of dancing Shiva? What can we say about Ganga which is neither there in South India nor mentioned in Sangam poetry? How can we link it to earlier Jain Art? Does the change in Shiva’s representation tell us something about the shift in society? What does it tell about the patron and the sponsor of the artifact? etc.

A multi-dimensional answer will touch all these aspects.

Manas: What are the relevant sources that aspirants should look for on the subject?

Devdutt Pattanaik: Before looking at the subject, have a clear framework in your mind, rather than reading a book from cover to cover. Make a list of topics and what you want to learn about each topic. Questions in your mind should be clear. Many aspirants do not think about what is art and culture. Just as students of Science do not ask fundamental questions like What is Physics or Chemistry? etc. I would invest a lot of time in making the table of content.

I will then start looking at the books which will have the answers. NCERT books are reasonably good but not sufficient. Recommending my book, I would say that the book is designed to aid the memory and provide the data which suits the syllabus. One can write an answer beautifully if he or she follows frameworks like Roti, Kapda, and Makaan; Lakshmi, Durga, Saraswati; and Desha, Kaala, and Guna.

Manas: How to develop an interest in a subject that many aspirants find otherwise ‘dry’ and based on rote learning?

Devdutt Pattanaik: Every subject is ‘dry’ if you hate it. My definition of hard work is very simple, the work done with reluctance is ‘hard work’. If you are not curious, you will not learn anything. You may get a job through UPSC and you may be unhappy with it. Curiosity is the way of being. You should be curious about subjects, especially Art and Culture, which is about your life. Are you curious about your house, rituals, belief system, family’s migration, etc.?

If you start connecting everything to your life, studying becomes important. For example, let us talk about numismatics. When demonetisation happened, I was curious to study a chapter on numismatics. When a bridge fell in Bihar, my question was whether the first bridge was built in India. Why were Indians reluctant to cross rivers? What do we know about Saryu Paar Brahmin? Why did Rama build a bridge and not sail to Lanka? How did armies cross North and South India?

Curiosity is necessary. When you are curious, the subject opens up for you. A great philosopher has rightly said, “Life unexamined is a tragic life.”

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