Last of the loony gurus

Offbeat with R.S. Murthi

IT TAKES more than eccentricity and great talent for an artist to become a cult figure in the pop jungle. He needs raw guts, a great deal of staying power and a determination to stick it out through thick and thin. And if he's thinking of turning into a tycoon by offering his egotistical effusions for mass consumption, he had better start digging his own grave...
Not exactly a rosy picture, is it? Willy-nilly, that's what achieving cult status entails. But you have to give credit to the artist who couldn't care what the majority of the goddamn world might think of him for resignedly playing to a dedicated following.