Art, a three-letter word that conjures so many things for people at the same time. Is art great works of Claesz, Raphael, Rubens or Hopper? Or does one find it in the transparency of a jewel, the texture of the brush or the mysterious lines of an illustration? The enigma that is art is precisely that, an enigma.


A Syrian mother and her children look at printed artwork of artist Salvador Dali at a gallery in Damascus on May 12, 2010. Pic/AFP 

Perhaps this is the reason why to most of us art is seems distant — seen in museums and in art galleries; and that probably meant only for the privileged other. One thing is for sure: Art and children have hardly gone together. Drawing yes, art no. Art was equivalent to something for the privileged, and looked at as snob quotient. It was perceived as a niche, only for those who 'understood' art. But things seem to be looking up.