A Happy World Peace Day to all.

A dictionary describes peace as freedom from anxiety, disturbance, or inner conflict, which means peace is emotional, mental, spiritual and social too. And we as humans have this choice to select a state of tranquility for us as well as people around.

We need peace for a harmonious society but we have witnessed violence in recent times in different parts of the world. Who was right and who was not is secondary but the fact remains that precious lives were lost due to the unrest. Be it war, turmoil, terrorism, or any form of turbulence, what is lost is peace. Unfortunately it has its impact on creative arts, be it music, dance, visual arts, drama, etc.

We know that a peaceful environment is a must for creative arts to flourish and a society, which is undergoing unrest of any form, has an enormous toll on art and culture. But at the same time creative arts can also help to reduce the unrest in a major way through the expressions of artists. Art can directly nurture a peace process by providing a strong and strategic voice during negotiations and mediation processes.

My grandfather Pandit Shamboo Nath Sopori ji, hailed as the ‘Father of Music’ in Jammu and Kashmir, changed the society through music and helped in building a harmonious environment where art and music could flourish. He worked against social and religious taboos and those who initially opposed music and dance gradually became the patrons or learners or connoisseurs of music. Similarly my father, Pandit Bhajan Sopori ji, hailed as the Saint of Santoor and as the cultural bridge of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country, used his Santoor and his compositions to highlight the concept of oneness and foster unity, enshrining the idea of national integration, humanism and peace amongst the masses by providing a musical healing touch for the betterment of the society.