The technological developments and their application brought about during last hundred years or so, have made tremendous advances in certain directions and have unfortunately led to the neglection of the creative expression of the individual and society's aspirations which are expressed through plastic arts such as architecture, painting and sculpture.

The architecture of early periods. whether in the East or West, has always been a powerful influence on the society. Though most of it was inspired by religion, it was aesthetically and symbolically designed with a profound understanding of forms, nature, its relationship with man and his environments. The arts and architecture were never separated into two parts but were conceived together by the master mind. In some cases one does not know where architecture stops and the painting or sculpture begins. Kailash at Ellora, Konarak in Orissa, Petra in Jordan. Ushmal and Chichin Iza in Mexico are some of the living examples.

Specialisation has come to stay with us as we are progressing in twentieth century. Architecture is considered apart from other visual arts. The building designed by the architect has specific functions and utility which is governing our mode of life more than our craving for creative expression. However. if t he human clement has to play its part in our life we have to think twice before we make further advances. Many architects and creative people engaged in various fields all over the world have been thinking hard on this subject and their attention is drawn to this quality of human expression.

Their ideas and approach towards this problem are changing fast and new experiments are finding their place everywhere.

An important factor today in creative expression is the emphasis on individuality. A solitary example is a person who is sensitive and talented, works hard or gets frustrated without any recognition from the society and finds himself out of place. This only shows that there is very little common ground which binds him together with the society.

Visual arts or plastic arts, in which architecture is included, have always played an important role and they are evolved from the natural surroundings, climatic conditions, man's material needs, and his spiritual longings. Inwardly and outwardly we are disintegrated today and what we create by way of plastic arts has the same quality of disintegration. Plastic arts, if rightly felt and expressed, can help greatly to restore this integration in the individual. Architects, painters, and sculptors who have been working

separately so far, have to learn to work together with a sense of sympathetic understanding for each other's expression.Both have to form a complete unit to be able to function effectively in our society. In art, concretization of total emotional, intellectual, and spiritual ideas of the age are shaped, sustained and developed. Our arts should belong to the same great heritage of India of which we often boast so much, and they have to form a part and parcel of the life our people. Along with the progressive ideas from the West we have to study our own Shilpshastras and Yastushastras and work in a close cooperation with creative people whose talents and labour go to make a contemporary architecture.

Since the last few years there is a growing awareness on this subject in us and we have been talking, scheming and attempting to bring the arts and architecture together. Our Prime Minister was the first person to understand the importance of this subject. All our attempts in this direction shall not bear any fruit so long as the artists and architects themselves have not felt the significance of this movement and unless they are left alone without too much interference from so-called advisory bodies who may want to control and direct this movement. We all know that controlling factor in art expression always leads to lower the quality of art expression. If we want this movement to be dynamic, we shall have to rely on the artist to do the job rather than giving him a blue-print of what we wish him to fill in. We cannot expect the bird in a cage to sing.