Nikita Gupta - Explore Art Forms That Might Become Extinct In the Future and Work Towards Forming an Organisation to Preserve That Art Form (Blogger, India)

Instagram - @theculturalgully

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I come from a family of bibliophiles and culture enthusiasts and that is where my love for Indian culture stems from. As a child, my mother enrolled me in a Kathak Dance course and that helped me connect with India’s art and history. I practised Kathak for 9 years. 

Furthermore, as a child, I had always been fascinated with monuments and forts and I would prefer visiting art galleries instead of children’s parks to stir my interest in this arena. Growing up, I realised how disconnected India’s audience is with the Indian heritage. 

Hence, in college, I decided to start a platform called The Culture Gully which aims to provide an informative and visceral deep-dive into the culture. Its mission is to impart as much cultural knowledge as possible through carefully curated and researched content, revealing the diverse nooks and crannies of different Indian cultures. 

We also exchange dialogues on sensitive issues such as body shaming, sexism, poverty and manual scavenging and also conduct virtual walks. Some of the posts on The Culture Gully people who need help have been successful in garnering support from more than 12,000 people. 

Recently, we covered a story about an old lady from Chandigarh who manages a shop at the age of 85 plus. More than 2000 people gathered to provide her support and raise money for her though she flatly refused to accept donations. 

The Culture Gully has won an award from the Culture Minister of India at the Inkpot India Conclave 2019 for bringing an independent voice to the cultural aspect of our history. I have been nominated by She The People TV and Google India at their Digital Women Awards 2020 for contributing towards educating the Indian masses towards India’s art and culture. 

I am a current MBA student at the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai and handle TCG as a one woman’s army. I single-handedly manage everything from ideating the campaigns to designing, researching, and even improving reader retention. I strongly believe that India is more than just monuments.


2. Do you have a dream project or your favourite project?

Recently, I pursued a project with a brand where I had to cover the streets of Varanasi and integrate the brand promotion into a story. The project involved extensive research on the bylanes of Varanasi and the city’s weavers. 

During the process, I learnt a lot about the weaving process of Banarasi fabric and realised how much culture India is yet to show to its masses. Another project which is very close to my heart is a Mother’s Day Initiative called #OneOfAKind which we undertook on the platform. 

Through this, we invited stories of people about someone who has been a motherly figure to them. We received different and emotional stories from people from depicting their fathers as mothers to their friends who have always been there.

Furthermore, we started a map and quiz series called #KnowIndia on The Culture Gully which involved showcasing different dance forms, art forms and fabrics of India into India’s map. The maps went viral and could be seen all over google. The quiz series involved “Guess the art form, dance form and monuments series” which amassed participation from more than 1000 people.


3. How can one identify and appreciate good art?

Honestly, I feel art exists everywhere. While walking down the streets of Connaught Place, you would meet a multitude of artists who are beading necklaces, playing the flute or performing gymnastics. When you visit Chandni Chowk, you’ll discover artists making perfumes out of flowers and natural ingredients. 

In Jaipur, you’ll discover bangle makers making bangles out of lac. I feel you have to be in the moment where you are at rather than stay glued to your cell phones while you are out on the streets. There is so much to observe and see that you would find stories and art in every nook and cranny of your area. 

Go out, talk to people, observe them and you’ll learn to appreciate art and in the process become an artist too.


4. How can one preserve art and culture? How to go about it?

I think the first and foremost step to conversing about art and culture would be to feel connected to it. A major problem seen among the audience is that either they are not very well aware of the art and culture of a region or they are disinterested in preserving it. 

So the first step would be to connect to your roots and dig into your family history which would help you understand where you come from and what region you belong to. It all starts from the home. Start preserving your parents’ old photographs, their memories, ask them questions about the history of the locations they have lived at.

Another way to preserve the cultural heritage of India would be to explore art forms that might become extinct in the future and work towards forming an organisation to preserve that art form. For example, a student-run organisation in Delhi via Enactus aims towards preserving Urdu Calligraphy in the by lanes of Chandni Chowk. 

If you are a college student, then please work towards opening an organisation that brings forth the culture of India towards the masses. Also, we could work towards promoting the local artisans and vendors

that sell goods to preserve our culture. For example, the Ministry of Culture hosts various fests around the year to promote the art and culture of different states of India. It becomes our duty to visit these festivals and understand the heritage of different states and promote their handicrafts by either shopping from the artisans or raising awareness through the power of social media.

Moreover, a pertinent problem noticed across monuments and forts of India is the vandalism of these beautiful structures. You would often see pen or thumbnail inscriptions of “Shweta loves Aman” on the walls of these structures. If we want our future generations to see the beauty of our heritage, then this vandalism must stop.


6. Do you have any tips for people who want to join this field?

Content creation requires a lot of upskilling in the form of graphic designing, reading, creative writing and research abilities.

If you are planning to enter this field, then you must be up to date with what is happening in the arena you want to enter. For example, I read a lot of novels and articles to draw inspiration for the content that gets put up on The Culture Gully.

Also, getting hands-on applications like Canva or Adobe Spark would always help because every business requires marketing and promotion and these tools do come in handy when you are getting into the process of designing creatives and building your brand image.

Furthermore, networking with like-minded people either by joining an informational group on Whatsapp/ Facebook/ Telegram also helps in drawing inspiration for your content.

Another important aspect is the analysis of the key insights of your platforms. It is important to be well-versed with Instagram and Facebook Insights. Knowing the difference between reach and impression is very important when you are running a community. 

Moreover, you could take the help of Social Blade or Google Analytics (if you have a website). Google Analytics would help you track where your users are coming from, the device they are using and what part of the day there is the most amount of traffic on your website. 

Social Blade would provide you with an analysis of the engagement of your platform over the months and how well your posts or content has been performing.

It would also help you analyse which content piece is performing better and ultimately help you chart out a plan as to the future direction and strategy for your venture.

7. Which is your favourite boom and why?

I think digitization has helped the population of India discover new professions, new income sources and new artists. The period of 2012-2015 was the time when bloggers arose and that changed the whole ball game of marketing. 

Influencer marketing also helped in supporting local artists and designers and helped in increasing our imports as well and also helped in preserving the art and culture of India. You just have to scroll through Instagram now to buy a Madhubani Painting or discover artisans in this field.

- Interviewed by - Sanjana Jain