A creative artist should be on fire, always. Fire of creation, fire of excellence, fire of expression, fire of frustration, fire of desperation, fire of beauty, fire of hope… He must be a restless soul. He cannot be at peace; he should not be. If he is at peace, he can never create anything worthwhile. His soul must be burning, always, so that he can stir the souls of others, those who are fearful, scared to see the light. He has been gifted with a talent. He must justify it. Milton might say, God does not make any demands, does not need any return for the talent He has given us. But Nature believes in evolution and wants man to evolve through the creative artist. He has been chosen to be the angel to enlighten those who are in doubt, who don’t understand the difference between light and darkness. They are driven by their raw instincts and desires. Most of them have their limitations and cannot rise beyond ‘self’. The creative artist has no option but to go beyond the ‘self’ and guide the destiny of millions so that man evolves into a better being, socially, morally and spiritually. For this the creative artist must have a vision of his own. He should not be a copycat. He must be with an open mind, ready to accept and adapt to the new challenges that man faces. If he has to reject certain norms, traditions, dogmas or concepts, he must be bold and fearless. He must be a new man every day. Only then he can be a torch bearer for a new social order. The creative artist must be on fire, I say. He should be ready to burn. If he does burn, he would rise like a phoenix again and would take the human race ahead.

O.P. Arora