India will be Global Leader Soon: Rouble Nagi
Rouble Nagi is an artist of par excellence She is the Founder of Rouble Nagi Art Foundation. She is also the founder of Rouble Nagi Design Studio. She has over 800 murals to her credit and has held over 150 exhibitions. She is a member of the India Design Council (IDC). She has taken up an initiative to start Mumbai beautification with ‘Art Installations’ in and around the city. Her latest initiative named “Misaal Mumbai” is the first slum painting initiative in India, through which she has painted over 165000 houses to date. A project to paint houses in slums in Mumbai to give life to the slum and keep it clean and hygienic.
She recently penned Down book Titled The Slum Queen.
In an exclusive interview with the News Kashmir, She talks to Rameez Makhdoomi and Farzana Mumtaz.
A bit about your early days of life ?
I believe that the environment you’ve grown up is in a way responsible for everything you are today. My childhood was basically living in different Army cantonments across the country always moving in 2 years from one school to another, one city to another, one house to another, you’re used to not getting too comfortable or too attached to anything or anybody. Adapting becomes a way of life before you even know it. You realise early that nothing is really permanent, the selfless attitude of a soldier is impossible to replicate, but it definitely affects your perspective of the people and goals in your life. “Do everything with all your heart, but don’t expect a reward in return” is a common refrain in Army households, we followed the same and I still do. How was academic life like ?
Your academic life is one of the most remarkable and lovable times of an individual’s life, be it school or college. Both school life and college life are the most memorable time of a person’s life, but both of them are quite different from each other. While in School life, we learn everything in a protected environment, College life exposes us to a new environment where we have to learn new things and face new challenges by ourselves. So, in an average army tenure, we manage to change around five to seven schools, or even more. Reading every evening was non-negotiable, mostly we were posted in small cities and villages we never really had the luxury of going to a mall or any other kind of “big city entertainment, books and nature were your best friends.
Your take on current situation of women of India?
The situation of women in India has greatly improved overtime and the government has launched programs aimed at advancing human rights, literacy and microfinance are therefore necessary in order to restore Indian women to the place they deserve and open doors to a better future, we could still do better. The problem lies in rural areas, poverty and a lack of information represent real barriers to women’s independence and empowerment.
You are a world famous Mural artist ,something on that ?
Well I don’t know whether I am world famous or not but creativity is in my blood and have done art work in 40 different forms. Murals have been of special Interest for me along with sculptures . I love to create.I am currently making a 25 feet sculpture . To create beautiful things has been my passion .
Your dreams?
India will have a literacy rate of 100%, I would like to see a transition from women development to women led development, women should be reimagined as architects of India’s progress and development. This isn’t a distant dream but India will be a global leader sooner than we think.
