Last weekend, during a round of channel-surfing, the stirring frames of a documentary made us halt and continue to stay glued till the credits rolled. A private German broadcaster was reporting live from the home of a popular Afghani musician in Kabul. A master of local musical instruments, he was recalling how he gave a memorable performance to a packed house, barely two days before the Taliban captured his city. He was teary-eyed as he recounted those moments, and how in a matter of a few days, his life had turned upside down, for the worse. “I didn’t think they would return so fast,” he confessed to the German correspondent. He had honed his music for 16 years, and now, his talent, reputation but most importantly, income that enabled him to look after his family, had gone kaput. The musician was forced to roast corn on Kabul’s streets. Other performers like him had met with the same fate, as they wondered if the once-lively cultural arts scene would ever return.

At the other extreme end, a friend who contributes to an arts and culture newsletter with a focus on Europe informed me that in 2022, teenagers in Spain who turn 18 will be entitled to receive a culture pass worth €400. This pass will enable them to secure tickets for concerts, films, operas, and performances, buy books, and essentially have access to all kinds of cultural activities. Some digging up revealed that this initiative is part of a €200 million nationwide scheme rolled out by Spain’s Culture and Sports Ministry. In fact, their Minister of Culture said that it is like an 18th birthday present, and encouraged the youth to spend it at the opera or at a classical music concert. Their prime minister was hoping that this push would be a springboard for young people to have better access to culture, and more importantly help those who suffered huge financial losses during the pandemic. While France and Italy had already introduced such schemes, Spain’s initiative is a direct fallout of the pandemic. The idea, if implemented well, stands to be a win-win for both sides of the cultural spectrum.