The intoxication of creativity

IFE is a delicate balance. Work and play, family and friends, south and north, potholes and traffic, biryani and that diet plan... What a task indeed, to navigate through them all! For a certain lot, the balance between brilliance and madness is a thin line, too. And artists easily fall into this category.

- JITHA KARTHIKEYAN [e-mail] (Jitha Karthikeyan is an artist and curator, passionate about making art accessible to the larger public)

IFE is a delicate balance. Work and play, family and friends, south and north, potholes and traffic, biryani and that diet plan... What a task indeed, to navigate through them all! For a certain lot, the balance between brilliance and madness is a thin line, too. And artists easily fall into this category. No surprises there, for the world has already created this stereotypical image of an artist - hair ignored, thoughtlessly dressed, bearded (for portrayals are all male), and of course, with eyes bloodshot with intoxication - the epitome of eccentricity. The typecast may be unfair, as most artists are as normal as any banker or engineer could be. And yet, it is also true that sometimes, artistic brilliance and its expression find their inspiration in the call of drugs.