I was never the child who won medals in painting competitions or carried a sketchbook everywhere. Maybe I wasn’t a typical artist, but I was always in love with the idea of creation as I always found joy during drawing periods, where I’d let my crayons dance across the paper, creating a world of their own. 

On this World Art Day, I find myself reflecting not just on the celebrated masterpieces in galleries, but also on the art around us -  in the chalk-stained fingers of children, in the colors on trucks that read “Horn OK Please,” in the symmetry of rangolis outside our doorsteps, and in the divine brushstrokes nature blesses our skies every evening.

 Art, in India especially, is not just framed and revered. It breathes in everyday life.

India Through Its Artists: A Canvas of Legacy! 

India’s history of art is as old as its civilization, textured and layered with expressions of faith, rebellion, culture, and emotion. From the ancient Ajanta and Ellora cave paintings to the miniature Mughal art, from tribal art like Warli and Madhubani to modern masters like Raja Ravi Varma, who bridged mythology and realism  and Rabindranath Tagore, whose fluid strokes mirrored his poetic heart. 

The fearless abstraction of M.F. Husain, the soul-searching sculptures of Ramkinkar Baij, the graceful rhythm of Amrita Sher-Gil’s portraits, or the explosion in the works of Arpita Singh,  all echo a different India. These artists didn’t just create, they documented time, challenged the norms, and nurtured identity. 

Art as Protest: The Brush That Dares to Speak

But art has never just been decoration. It has always had the guts to speak when words failed. In the freedom struggle, it showed up in nationalist posters, in biting political cartoons that mocked colonial hypocrisy. Today, street walls echo with feminist murals,  faceless women with fire in their postures, graffiti with slogans screaming for justice and demanding consent. 

Art is protest in the form of placards, it wakes us up, invites dialogue, and refuses silence. In a world grappling with inequality, war, climate crisis, and censorship, art remains a radical tool of truth. Its power lies not in being loud but in being unforgettable.

Everyday Masterpieces: A Celebration of Art Around Us!

So maybe you don’t paint or write poetry. Maybe you’re not an actor or a dancer. But art is already a part of your life. It’s in the music that plays when your heart aches, in the doodles you make during a long call, in the decor choices you make for your home, in the way you dress, it’s all expression.

On this World Art Day, let’s not gatekeep art as something only “artists” do. Let’s embrace it as a language we all know, even if we’ve forgotten how to speak it fluently. Because in a world that rushes forward without stopping, art is that gentle hand on your shoulder reminding you: You’re human. Create. Connect. Reflect.