THE REALITY OF LECTURE TOURS
IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL INTERACTION

BRAIN DRAIN OR MORAL DRAIN

A person walked in a month back and suggested that I go on a lecture tour. He said, ‘Do not waste time here. Your time means money. You have information to give, and information means money’. Such suggestions have always been there, from one society to another. No harm done. Good. People as well as nations should interact, find out about each other and then make the world a better place. I am all for it.

But when these lecture tours bending the moral values of the person being sent, to channel him through a cobweb of rewards, for services rendered. That is a different ball game and care should be taken, that for self aggrandizement, national values are never sacrificed.

M.A. Rahman Chughtai too, used to get invitations for tours abroad. Ambassador James Langley invited him on a US tour in 1958, and Columbia University was willing go finance it further, into a longer stay. In the same vein, the Russians extended their invitsation to him. In 1962, V. Titaev, Secretary, USSR Embassy wrote to him:

“May I request you to inform us whether it will be possible for you to make a trip to the Soviet Union this year and take with you some of your nice pictures to arrange an exhibition there. My sincerest gratitude for your lovely etching that you presented to me.”

Others to wished to invite him. He used to send his paintings abroad, he declined to take any invitation. Why? He knew best, but he was polite to all. He never wanted to get into any political debate or debacle. He was an artist with Iqballian KHUDI attached to him.

Robert O Jones, a senior US diplomat also tried to arrange shows in the USA. In 1977 V. Smirnov, the Russian Ambassador requested a Chughtai’s show in Moscow. Masood Nabi Noor, the Federal Cultural Secretary, on behalf of President Zia ul Haque declined the same. A hundred and one stories like these in our archives. We will pick some of them.