The shoot was supposed to begin at Jnan Ghosh Stadium at 6:00 in the morning. With butterflies in my stomach, all I could do last night was to keep turning sides in bed. Trying to check the time every now and then also did not help my cause. And then, around 5 in the morning, I heard the first drops of rain. Soon, it had turned into a relentless downpour; and all I could do was to stand against the large glass window of Technology guest house and look at the skies in desperation. There were no signs of the rains letting up.
It was 9 in the morning and the rain was still coming down, albeit much weaker. I checked the weather report for the day. The weather man’s prediction was not good at all. It was supposed to rain the whole day. Then I checked the weather report for the next seven days. And if I were to believe the report, the only time when we can shoot would be only after six days. KGP is supposed to have continuous rains for the next six days. At that point devastated would have been an understatement to describe how I felt.
It took about an hour to gather myself and I started looking for possible solutions. A sudden passing image of chemical department came to my mind, which I had visited yesterday to find a possible aerial viewing point for Nehru museum. The cycle-stand of chemical department was covered and it had an open view of the Nehru museum. And hence I could paint from there even in rain. Suddenly energized with this new possibility, I packed my painting kit and started off. Soon the film crew joined me; and according to them the light was perfect for the shoot. But that was not the only thing that was perfect that day.
The cycle shed of chemical dept turned out to be one of the best spots from where I could paint Nehru Museum. It was drizzling and the wet roads and moist air created one of the most perfect romantic rainy moods for painting. As clichéd as it may sound, the atmosphere was magical. Hijli detention camp stood there nonchalantly like a graceful danseuse bathed in the rain and glowing in the faint warm sunlight trying to break through the cover of clouds. While it was difficult for anyone to miss her beauty, she made no airs about it. She just stood there today(as she had been doing all these years), watching rickshaw puller dada go about his job as usual while students came and went. She had stood there watching generations come and go. She had seen history being made and repeated. She stood there when IIT was born in her. And she stood watching even today as the IITKGP En Plein Air project took off.
Back in 1951 the story had begun here. And for IITKGPEPA it had to begin here.
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” – The Alchemist
May be this is really how it works after all! I can’t say for sure, and only time will tell;but till now there have been enough indications to prove it; and I am slowly turning into a believer.
As a plein air painter and a KGPian, I have always wanted to come back and capture the different moods of our campus in real time on canvas. I probably started thinking about it more than seven years ago when I got hooked onto painting outdoors. But frankly, I had never really wanted to do it desperately enough. The ‘wanting really bad’ thing happened in March this year when I came back to meet a friend at campus. I was in the campus after twenty years; and was seeing it through the eyes of a painter this time. That is when inspiration struck. Around the same time I was also exploring the idea of making short sketching based videos for a government organisation (which never moved beyond concept stage). As a natural progression, by that night I was dreaming of not only painting different locations in the campus, but also of capturing it on film. By the next morning, it had turned into a very strong desire.
Back home I started to look for documentary film makers. I met a few amateurs and professionals but nothing really worked out. Either I would not be convinced about the person or he would not be convinced about my idea. And when there was agreement, the budget was far beyond what I thought I could raise. As an artist my own income is meager and suddenly the idea of making the film seemed too far fetched because of the costs involved. There was a point when I had almost given up on my dream. But as luck would have it I got introduced to the ex Gymkhana VP of IITKGP and that is when I learnt about Technology Filmmaking and Photography Society (TFPS). And suddenly there was a ray of hope.
Very soon I was talking to Lokesh (TFPS head) and he seemed to like the idea and I liked what I saw of his work as a film maker and we decided to meet at KGP. Yesterday when I came down and met Lokesh, we started bonding in no time and I thought that was a great sign. But even after more than four hours of delightful conversation and ideation, what initially seemed to be a great idea was not looking like an implementable one. Both of us were completely unsure of how to go about making the film. That’s why we decided to do a trial shoot today, and probably that would help Lokesh to get some idea about how the film can be made.
*********
When I woke up today morning I was pretty nervous. The events of the day would probably decide whether the film can be made or not…
The first place for the shoot was Nehru museum. The combination of my nerves and May heat of KGP made me quite jittery and restless. Needless to say, I was not happy with what I painted there. It was a complete blur. Thankfully none of the camera guys turned up for the shoot; and the trial shoot was moved to the afternoon at Vegies.
It was around 4 in the afternoon when I reached Vegies and took my position opposite to the entrance. The heat had come down, and there was a slight breeze. Vegies was slowly coming back to life as people had started returning from classes. I started sketching to get used to my environment and soon I felt relaxed. Probably it was a bit of everything that put me at ease. Or maybe it was the aura of Vegies. The camera guys soon turned up and started shooting. My inspired self was starting to break free from my nervous self and colours were starting to flow well on paper. Short conversations were being made with passers- by (which is such an integral part of the process of painting en plein air) and I was enjoying myself. Soon it was dark, but I managed to finish the painting in time.
Post the shoot we moved to Vegies and soon others joined in. Everyone seemed to like what I had done and I could sense that Lokesh had also got some direction in his head about the film. With most of the equipment and professional fees removed from the equation, the expenses for the film are also looking reasonable now. I think I should be able to raise the funds needed.
Looking back at how things have progressed so far, I feel very happy and positive right now. The idea that seemed to have hit a dead end just a month ago, has just found wings and is ready to take off…Well, almost. The film crew still need to get clarity about the film, funds still need to be raised and everything else still needs to fall into place. But I have a gut feel and it’s a good one; – that Paulo Coelho is going to be right after all!
It is a well known fact that the current education system in India is a derivative of the education system put in place by the British during their rule. The system put in place by the British was mainly to reduce their administrative costs by producing low to mid level government officials. Unfortunately we still follow a similar style of education today. All it aims at doing is to produce job ready professionals. Below are a couple of the main features of the British education system that is prevalent even today.
Our curriculum evaluates people on individual basis. There is no stress on doing things in a team and building confidence and trust in others.
Examination and grading system seeks to evaluate students based on a single template. Evaluating students based on only few subjects in an individualistic way through the template of examinations is never good for the confidence level of a student. Moreover the down to 2 decimal places grades are also used by parents to compare and contrast and put undue pressure on students which further hampers their self esteem. This reminds me of a quote by Einstein, which goes like this. “Every person is a born genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to swim, it will live its life believing itself to be a fool”.
These are just a few issues in our education system which has been there since the British rule. But there is a plethora of other evils which have plagued the education system in India. The reasons for this degradation are manifold. In the following sections this will be discussed. Our education system has degraded to machinery which only aims at producing individualistic conformist working class society, aspiring to make their lives better by earning more and more. It does not encourage independent thinking, inward gaze, creativity and intellectual development and many other things needed to build better individuals and a better society.
The Drawbacks of Current Education System
When India became independent education was seen as a tool of empowerment, which would bring about societal changes and find solution to problems in the country. And during that era education system probably did fulfill its purpose. But if we look at the situation today can we really say that the societal change envisioned at the time of independence has really occurred? Has poverty been eradicated? Has the rich poor gap been closed? In fact it has increased if numbers are to be believed; 26% of India’s wealth is held by a few elites. Few here does not refer to thousands. Not even hundreds. It refers to tens of people.
Even if education system has failed to bring about societal changes, does it really serve the purpose for which it has come to exist? Does it really produce high quality employable youth?
A report from an independent survey claims that at least 47% of the Indian graduates were unemployable.
90% of the engineering graduates were deemed unemployable.
Roughly 84% of the graduates did not have the cognitive ability to get jobs.
90% lacked fundamental English proficiency and basic communication skills to get jobs.
So our education does not solve societal problems. Neither does it produce high quality employable professionals. What are the reasons? Before finding functional and structural flaws lets look at the intent behind the dispersion and reception of education to understand this issue.
The stakeholders in the education machinery are students, parents, teachers, schools, society and the state. Lets examine education from each of their contexts.
Student –In primary education level as higher marks and academic achievements are encouraged, getting higher marks or passing exams ends up becoming whole purpose of receiving education. In higher education level the intent is to score good marks to get a better job or clear tests so that one is not stuck behind.
Parents – Most parents send their children to school so that education can secure their future. They look at education as a means of income, social status, security, better marriage prospect and a better material life. Parents send their children to expensive schools by spending a significant part of their earnings, so that their kids can get a better exposure. But again the idea behind getting better exposure is to keep ahead in the race and not necessarily become a better individual.
School Administration –In case of government schools, running a school is about finishing paperwork, keeping things under control during school hours, acting only to keep things mostly functional. In case of private schools, it is about profits, marketing and keeping the numbers (results, achievements etc) right. Private schools in some instances have threatened to disown students with lower scores to keep the average scores of the school looking healthy.
Teacher – Most of the teachers are teachers because they did not find a better job. So naturally teaching is just another job for them. It is not like there are no passionate teachers in India, but their number is very low.
State –The policy makers lay down the law and common man just follows it. There is no two way flow between policy makers and the end users. Hence policy makers are really not accountable in our system. And then you also have the politically motivated syllabus in school to make matters even worse.
Society – Indian society consists largely of the middle class. The middle class in general is a conformist one which like status quo. However it does expects revolutionaries and innovators to be churned out of the system. But not from their own homes.
None of the stakeholders except the state (probably) looks at education as a tool to build better individuals, better society and a better country. It is not thought of as a system to enable individuals realize their potential, build character, develop sensitivity to the world around them, develop a sense of responsibility, passion and ownership. Even state does not really look to improve the system continuously. And that has caused the system to become what it is; a rate race. Here are some of the manifestations of the misplaced purpose of education in Indian society.
Everything and everywhere it is about rote memorization. Attitude to explore and learn is suppressed.
Standardized tests with limited scope evaluate students. Hence the true potential of students is never explored.
As education is seen as a means of financial security, it has become the major social yardstick.
Extreme pressure on students to be in top bracket is also leading to increase in rate of student suicides. Limited seats in top education institutes have added to this pressure.
Increasing dissatisfaction in students and job sector as most people are going through things and doing jobs that they do not like or do not have aptitude for.
Poor standard of teachers and teaching methods.
Extremely unhealthy competition among students.
Development of very individualistic and opportunist environment.
There is no scope for failure in the system as learning is not the real aim, but grades are.
Knowledge gathered is bookish and hence inability to apply it in real life.
Lack of critical thinking.
Lack of broader worldview among students and hence inability to take decisions.
Lack of ownership and apathy towards taking up responsibilities.
Lack of emotional and intellectual development in students
Lack of confidence and independence.
Other Concerns
In addition to the issues that we have in our education system we also need to examine what are other major gaps in it. Below are a few concerns that need to be raised.
In recent times there has been a increase in the rate of farmer suicides. The number of registered farmers in the country is on a rapid decline. Youth is moving away from agriculture in search of ‘greener pastures’. Clearly majority of people do not want to take up agriculture as a profession. Unfortunately it all starts with the schooling system. The subjects that are taught at school never really give an exposure to student on agriculture. Neither does the system inspire anyone to become a farmer.
On the similar lines the system is not designed to inspire people to become naturalists or soldiers or artists or social activists. The list of such professions is endless.
Our education system is completely focused on the outside. The gaze is always outward. There is hardly anything in the curriculum that enables students to turn their gaze inwards.
Only number and language based learning seems to be in curriculum. Experiential learning, Visual learning etc do not get any importance.
Creativity is not nurtured. The grading system and template based evaluation tends to suppress creativity.
Can there be a solution!
Even if the way education is imparted is improved upon; lets say grades are abolished and focus is on learning, will students develop an attitude of understanding rather than mugging? Will parental and societal demands of ensuring a better future not drive them to innovate and find short-cuts. And if education becomes more understanding oriented and not job oriented will society still be interested in education?
Unless there is a change of attitude towards education, it becomes very difficult to bring in any change. The attitude of all stakeholders is in question here. So we end up with a chicken and egg problem here, for which there may not be any right answers. One thing that is known for sure that change can not be brought about overnight. In this case especially it will be excruciatingly slow. As quantification of the effect of change will be difficult and initial changes will be minimal it will always be under scrutiny by the cynics.
Here are a few suggestions on how the loop can slowly be broken.
School years are the formative years and hence the best time to instill values and aspirations. So carry out different programs in schools to
Expose students to agriculture, gardening, nature, animals, wildlife
Pick up some reflective activity like sketching, theater, music or dance
Do team and collaborative activities
Carry out make and learn (instead of read and learn) activities (esp for science subjects)
Help students realize their potential and aptitude through an environment of continuous open and intimate conversations (We already have numerous names for it like Adda, Bhat, Khatti etc).
Discussion and Dialogue based learning of abstract subjects
All the above and such activities will need to have an output that is tangible, which should be celebrated as an achievement.
Schools must have a homogeneous mix of students from cities, villages and small towns.
My Solution
My solution to revamp the education system in India is to follow a holistic approach to education, which is aimed at developing creativity and intuition, values, critical thinking and positive attitude, ability to take decisions, inward gaze and an attitude of continuous learning among students. Education should inspire. There are a very few schools in India that are having a similar approach to education. If they are brought under one umbrella and more such schools are built it will become a movement and will open up the way to achieve the dream. Secondly education should not only be restricted to schools. Home education is equally important if not more. Awareness among parents and guardians and few tools to enable them to guide and inspire their wards in the right direction would close the loop.
Here are a few areas of focus and the activities related to them. All areas are quite open ended and not specific and exact like maths and science. The learning is mostly visual, experiential and intuitive. It encourages creativity and innovation. A lot of group activities also build trust and camaraderie among children. These are also aimed at inspiring students to take up agriculture, nature wildlife conservation, arts as their profession.
Nature Awareness and agricultural activities – We protect only that which we love. And a person who has not grown up in the lap of nature would find it difficult to really love nature.
Setting up water holes and food bowls for birds in schools. As birds come down to have a bite or quench their thirst kids keep getting used to them and develop interest in them.
Adoption of stray dogs and abandoned cats by school
Maintenance of school garden by students
Growing few fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses etc in school campus through natural farming method which also may sometime need maintaining a cow shed in school.
Inclusion of these animals in school rituals and traditions. A school in Michigan provides a sanctuary to a mother duck who returns every year to lay eggs in the school. When the ducklings are old enough they walk through the hallway and led to a nearby water body with the help of students and staff. This now is a yearly ritual of the school.
Every student being assigned to plant and maintain at least one tree through his schooling time.
Students involved in growing food at home with their parents (again as a lifetime project).
Students themselves spreading awareness about community farming, forestation to local communities and helping them setup community farms.
Guided forest tours and camping. Not just a day affair, but spending a good week or so in the forests.
Organic waste management training for parents and students.
Art Education – No everyone can or should become artists. But everyone can and should practice and appreciate art. There are places in India which have this culture of learning, practicing and appreciating all forms of art and that reflects in the life style and outlook towards life of the people in those places. Such a culture must be nurtured from childhood.
Visual art, Music, Dance and theater should be made compulsory subjects in schools and there must be enough time assigned for it.
Art exhibitions, music and dance concerts, theater productions should be taken to schools or kids should be brought to such places on regular basis.
A couple of theater, music, dance productions each and art shows must become compulsory output of every school on a yearly or half yearly basis
Inter school competitions should be done on a regular basis and a lot of prestige should get attached to such competitions.
Students to maintain sketchbooks as a visual journal. Sketchbook sharing sessions to be held in schools and among schools.
Idols need to be created in these fields for students so that they can be inspired. Big names in these fields should be brought to schools and interact with kids.
Group art projects and community art projects and installations.
Storytelling and story writing
Story book illustrations
Schools or classes getting their own annual original story book published with illustrations, all done by students.
For specific and exact sciences here are a few suggestions that come to my mind.
Labs should be setup in all schools. If there is no space for labs, class room can be converted to labs.
Education should happen in labs. People should make first and then learn from it rather than the other way round.
Labs work should carry more weight than theoretical evaluation in learning process.
There should be team project works in lab and students should be evaluated as a team and as individual.
For teaching theory there should be discussions and dialogues and the teacher should act as a guide and moderator.
A form of teaching whereby absorbing knowledge rather than dissipating knowledge should be encouraged. Meaning the students proactively must question each other and the teacher instead of teacher pushing things down their throat.
I made this painting titled ‘Childhood’s End’ way back in 2011 and wrote the above piece more than a year earlier. Children are intuitive, creative and inquisitive by nature in varying degrees. Instead of nurturing that we have been suppressing it for a very long period of time now. But there are a few who have been doing their best to bring about a change. But a change is not possible here unless majority believe in it. Because the change here is a psychological one. Its a change in our value system. Hence a continuous dialogue is necessary. Support to those who are trying to bring changes is necessary. Even the smallest of actions is necessary. Otherwise our society will continue to chase it shadow be stuck in an infinite loop for ever.
No I don’t paint to address social issues. Neither do I paint to make a political statement. First of all I do not understand politics so well. All I understand is politics divides people. In today’s world of allegations, counter allegations, media choreographed events and heavily opinionated individuals I just don’t know what the truth is. Today someone makes me believe in something strongly, only to find out the very next day that it was all propaganda. With my limited knowledge about the world it also becomes extremely difficult to make a judgement on what is real and what is not. As an artist I seek truth and freedom through my work. Hence I choose to remain at a safe distance from this world of falsehood.
Suppose a cosmic event turns me omniscient and under the heavy pressure of moral obligation (which all superheros seem to have) I paint to change the world. But who is going to listen to me? Millions of art works get created around the world everyday. Many of them even by well known artists and artists with superlative skills. If people have to listen to someone in all probabilities they would listen to those artists; not me. And then is anyone really listening? Today everyone only has something to say. Social media has made it much easier for people to just keep saying something. Everyone wants to be heard. In effect there is hardly anyone who listens. In conclusion the paintings I would be making to change the world would end up changing me into a grumpy painter, because no one would just listen to me. By the way are you still listening to me!!
Irrespective of what I have said till now, it can so happen that I can still stand for something I fiercely believe in. And to bring about those changes I have two options. In the first one I take direct action to address the issue. For example to do my bit on environment I get a few friends together and we can have a tree planting drive. Not only we plant the trees, but we take care of it till it can stand on its own. Second option is to paint a masterpiece on climate change and hang it in a sophisticated air conditioned gallery under impressive lighting system and open to a packed house of art lovers and collectors. I am sure the second option would be far less effective to do my bit on environment. In fact all the air conditioning, lights, high end cars of the art lovers would have generated sufficient carbon footprint to offset whatever change my brilliant painting can bring about.
What About Finding My Own Voice!
But after all this blabbering they would still ask me the million dollar question. What about finding my own voice? What do they really mean when they say that? Is it being different from rest of the crew? Is it being original? But I really can not do it for the sake of it. Inventing something for the sake of it and hoping that it works is not going to work at all. That is more like style for style sake. It is the pursuit of excellence that is objective and something real. To be able to produce highest quality of work (irrespective of the subject) while working with lot of freedom and heightened sense of inner and outer perception is something that I pursue (Btw freedom is not about moving brush aimlessly on the canvas). And in that journey somewhere I hope I find my voice. And then lose it until I find a new voice. Finding my voice or developing my style is going to be just incidental. And it is also not going to be constant. It will always be work in progress. It will always be evolving. I can not get trapped in it.
Human beings are meaning making machines. They will find meaning where there is absolutely no hint of it. And when people find their meaning in being at a higher intellectual plane than their counterparts then they can stoop to the lowest level of pretension. A flat red canvas or a stuffed animal meant for natural history museum can sell for millions. As a person my idea of life’s journey is to go beyond judgement and assumptions that create such meanings. Its a journey based on observation and active listening of the without and the within. It is a journey to understand as things are and not as we assume them to be. That is how I believe I can go close to Truth and Freedom.
Why I paint (What I paint)
In case you have made it till here I would disappoint you now by saying that the above outburst may be completely unnecessary to understand why I paint what I paint. I paint landscapes, nature, animals, birds, humans, faces, figures, scenes from everyday life, things in my immediate surrounding because I just like to paint them. That is it. Direct interaction with nature and life around me is what inspires and motivates me to paint. That is the person who I am. For me being authentic is originality and if I persevere long enough with my authenticity it would eventually seep through into my work.
By painting what I paint I do get to see myself in a mirror. My work not only tells me who I am it also tells me who I can be. It tells me about a better self that I can become. May be the act of painting becomes independent of the subject someday. May be by painting something else I still would get to see the proverbial mirror. But probably it would be devoid of the joy I experience. And living without joy is something that is very hard for me to afford.
Enough said as of now. I’ll probably be singing a new song tomorrow as my worldview broadens. Tomorrow probably I’ll be laughing at what I have written now (Not that I am not smiling right now). But as of now I got to ‘Shut Up and Paint’.
I have always conducted watercolor workshops for adults only. Well, there have been young people in my workshops before. But never below the age of 15. I don’t believe in ‘teaching’ art to kids. I think when you teach art to children you take away their imagination and originality. So my workshop for children always has been more exploration and fun oriented. I don’t stick to a particular painting medium when conducting workshop for children. It more dynamic and fluid in terms of mediums. But in February this year, for the very first time I conducted a watercolor workshop for school children in Ahmednagar.
It was a two day watercolor workshop for about 30 school kids with their age varying from 9 to 13 at Col Parab’s school. However there were four more children who attended the workshop not belonging to this age. Two of them were six years old while the other two ‘children’ were sixty+ ladies. The ladies wanted to learn watercolor and they were really enthusiastic about attending the workshop. I was very happy to learn about the participants. But at the same time it was going to be a challenge to design something for such an audience and additionally it had to be such that it does not curb the natural instinct of the kids.
The Workshop Design
I had a a day free before the workshop. So I decided to meet the participants informally and learn about them which would help me design the workshop for them. I spent the entire day at school and went around seeing what the children were already doing in their art and craft courses. I happened to see some of their paintings and managed to talk to a few of them personally. What I noticed is that the participants were a hand picked lot who were already very good in drawing and painting and all of them really wanted to learn watercolors. That made my job easier. I decided to re-introduce watercolor medium to them focusing on the simplicity of the medium. My workshop was going to be about
Simple yet most important techniques of watercolor
Guide participants to handle watercolor in a better way
Making participants explore watercolor with good technique and handling
Watercolor Workshop – Day 1
The first day of the workshop started with the inauguration formalities. But it did not take too long and by 10:30 AM everyone was ready for the workshop. I started by explaining the difference between watercolor and other medium stressing on the transparency of watercolor medium. Next was a brief talk on the tools and materials of watercolor medium. The next couple of hours were spent in exploring different wash and glazing techniques.
I first demonstrated how gravity is used to lay down transparent washes of paint on paper. The children were used to paint with their paper placed flat on the ground. For washes they had to put the paper at around 20-30 degrees to the ground. It actually took me some time to get everyone to paint with an angle as they were habituated to paint with paper placed flat on the ground. But as soon as they started painting with a sloped paper wash technique became very clear and everyone could execute it successfully. Once the participants were comfortable with different washes I demonstrated glazing technique and soon they picked up that too.
After lunch I demonstrated how the wash and glazing techniques are applied in a painting. The subject I picked up was the tom of Salaut Khan which is a local tourist spot. So everyone could immediately identify with the subject. The participants then went ahead and painted the same subject. Though they were supposed to apply the techniques they had learnt I did not force it on them. But I was surprised to see the kids actually working with the techniques to paint. By the end of the day everyone had produced a good watercolor painting with very high degree of transparency. And I was a very happy man.
Watercolor Workshop – Day 2
Encouraged with the grasping power of the children, for the second day of the watercolor workshop I decided to go one step up. Along with exploring a few more techniques I decided to push the kids to paint from a live still life setup. The techniques that we explored on the second day were wet in wet, subtraction and dry brush work. Wet in wet technique was a little tough for the participants compared to the other techniques as one has to really have a feel of the paper wetness and paint consistency to get a desired effect. This is not a very easy technique, but I was sure the children would get a hang of it. We spent quiet a bit of time practicing this technique and many of the participants were successful in producing good wet in wet wash. But the real challenge for the day was yet come.
I set up a simple still life setup for the participants to paint. It was a simple setup, but painting from life is never simple. But I wanted the children to get introduced to the concept of painting from life as this is the best way to improve painting and drawing skills. Many of the participants stumbled in drawing out the still life itself as they were all used to drawing from photographs. But with some encouragement and a little guidance everyone finally finished their drawing. I then demonstrated how to apply all the techniques we had learnt over the two days to paint the still life. When it was time for the kids to paint I could sense they were a little wary of the challenge in front of them. So I told them to paint without fear and have fun without worrying about the outcome. It took a little bit of probing and coaxing, but finally the participants slowly settled into a groove and started going about their paintings with lot more confidence. After all painting is about confidence, self assurance and assertion and I wanted to see that in the works more than anything else. At the end of the workshop some of the participants were unable to finish their paintings due to lack of time. But in almost all the works I could see confidence and a carefree attitude along with decent application of the techniques. With such outcomes I could not have been happier.
For me this watercolor workshop was a very unique experience and a very fulfilling one. I hope I have been able to inspire some of the children to take up watercolors. Sometime in future I hope to get an opportunity to go back to Col Parab’s school and see it for myself.
Shimilipal tiger reserve in Mayurbhanj district of north Odisha had been in my bucket list for quiet a long time. But somehow luck had never been on my side and I could never make a pilgrimage to the tiger temple of Odisha. But then I had my ‘Oh Yes Finally’ moment in November this year. And it was not just a trip to Shimilpal. It was a sketching trip to the tribal hinterlands of northern Odisha. I was going to be painting in Mayurbhanj en plein air. And the icing on cake was that I made this trip with a group of sketchers of Bhubaneswar Sketching Club (BSC). I could not have wished for more.
Baripada
Baripada is the district headquarter of Mayurbhanj district and this is where we flagged off our sketching marathon on 4th of November. Coincidentally it was Kartik Poornima on the same day, a festival which is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm across Odisha. People had gathered on the streets early in the morning after boita bandana and it created a very energetic atmosphere. We happen to be at MPC junior college which is actually a palace now functioning as a educational institute. The sunlight was also quiet angular and it created very interesting shadow patterns on the walls of the college. All in all it was a perfect morning to paint on location and all of us enjoyed sketching there. Later we moved to collector’s office which is housed in an old British building and sketched there.
Baldiha
On day 2 we headed to a tribal village named Baldiha. But before going inside the village we decided to sketch at the Baldiha dam where many films have been shot. When we reached the dam it was not difficult to understand why so many films have been shot there. The vast expanse of the river flowing smoothly till the dam and them the overflowing water from the dam gushing down with brutal force was something I could not take my eyes off from. We sketched here till lunch. After a hearty lunch of simple and delicious local food we moved inside the village.
Sketching inside the village was one of the highlights of the trip. The villagers welcomed us with a smile everywhere we went. I sketched in the courtyard of a house. It was amazing to see how the living space is shared with cattle, goats, poultry which itself is surrounded by agricultural land and forest. The life of the villagers was all about inclusion, interdependence, community and restraint. It was such a humbling experience to sketch there.
Similipal
It was the third and last day of our trip and a day I had been waiting for a really long time. We were going into Similipal and if possible we were going to do some sketching there. Once we got inside the forest, Similipal started to reveal its beauty gradually. And it was better than what I could have imagined. It was serene yet edgy. Sort of sensual in a way. We traveled about 120 kms into the forest. On the way we made stops at a few waterfalls. But nothing prepared me for our last pit stop at Uski waterfall. We could get really close to the waterfall. In fact two of us trekked upto the fall through the river and it was a lot of fun. Watching the water gush down the hill made time stop. It was difficult to take my eyes off it. Unfortunately it was starting to get dark and we started our journey back to Baripada. And in the meanwhile we did manage to sketch at a couple of places including Uski waterfall.
All of us had a great time doing intensive sketching and enjoying the natural beauty of Mayubhanj for three days in stretch. But those three days seemed to have flown by in a jiffy. Three days indeed were too short to soak in the beauty of north Odisha. I am already planning my next trip there.
p.s. I also made a small video on our Similipal visit. You can see it here.
After a long gap of five years I’ll be back in Bangalore to conduct my latest watercolor workshop titled “Decoding Watercolor”. To say that I am excited will be an understatement.
First of all Bangalore is an art loving city. People from every age category and all walks life appreciate art. In fact many of them practice art quite regularly. I have always had a full house every time I have conducted a workshop there. And I am hoping this time too it will be just like old times.
The second reason why I am excited is this is a brand new module that I am going to do. This module focuses more on the understanding aspect than the ‘how to’ aspect. What many people do not realize is that painting too is a process of problem solving at many levels. And to solve problem effectively what one needs is a deep understanding of watercolor medium. And this new module is completely geared towards that. If you attend the workshop you will
Learn how to break down a subject to paint it in watercolour
Understand your tools and materials to be able to make best use of them
Find out why some paintings work and why others fail
Learn how to create mood in your works
Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned painter this knowledge will help you take your art to the next level.
Workshop Details
Venue – Venkatappa Art Gallery Auditorium, Bangalore
Date – 02 Dec, 2017
Time – 09:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Registration for the workshop is now open. Seats are limited and will fill up on FCFS basis. So if you think you should do this workshop you must register asap. Once you fill up the registration form, you’ll be guided to pay the workshop fees. When the fees are received registration will be completed.
On 21st July 2017 when I set out to IIT Kharagpur for En Plein Air project I realized was not travelling alone. I was travelling with the wishes as well as expectations of a large community of IIT-KGPians. There were different facets of KGP life that each of them wanted to see through my paintings. I must admit it did make me little nervous. The other realization was, I was not going there just for IIT-KGP En Plein Air project. There were a few of my contemporaries who wanted to relive their KGP times through me. And I have been unfair to them and have not really kept everyone updated. Finally here is the update about the life in campus, my experiences and of course IIT-KGP En Plein Air project.
The Campus and Academics
First things first. If you have not been to KGP in a while the new look campus would hit you. There are flawless roads with cycle tracks on each side and separate places marked for parking with proper signage everywhere. A lot of new state of the art buildings have come up where classes are held. Technology guest house has been expanded and someone told me it has 3 start rating. Hostels have been extended. There are new buildings and new floors. A few halls now have 4 floors which also including Azad hall. The mess has become bigger. Rotis are now made by a huge roti making machine in the mess. Gymkhana too has a new building. The area behind gymkhana has been developed into a lovely park. There is so much change in the campus in terms of infrastructure, its almost unbelievable. At the same time greenery of the campus is intact and did not look like it has been compromised with.
And to top it all there is a law school and people are studying stuff like economics. In humanities there are credit subjects like visual communication and in the law school there are courses like international environment laws which anyone can take up as an elective. Now I really loved this development. IIT KGP is now more like an university where individuals are given enough opportunities to realize their true and full potential. The way things are developing we may soon see a school of fine arts and a school of performing arts soon in the campus.
The Student Life
Student life is probably as hectic as it was 15 years earlier if not more. One good thing is classes start at 8:00 AM as opposed to 7:30 AM. But still there is a mad rush to get to classes on time. Life still revolves around projects, credits, profs, classes, labs, presentations, apping, mugga, exams, CAT mock tests. But what is heartening to see is the kids are doing much more than all this. There is an art club called SPECTRA and students do some really amazing works of art. They learn from each other, from external faculty, internal faculty and they even put up an art exhibition every year. There is a film making club called TFPS and they come up with short films every now and then. My interaction was mostly with TFPS as they were involved in IIT-KGP En Plein Air project. And I was amazed by the talent each of them had and how they are channelizing it into creative domains.
I was even lucky to meet few individuals in final year who have done their internship in media houses as they want to pursue their field of interest. One of them was already doing some work for a digital media company designing posters for them. These I believe are great signs of the times we live in.
Vegies/Eggies and Harrys (Now called Tikkas) continue to be the lifeline of students. Harrys breakfast consisting of dal puris, sabzi, coffee and rasagola though has become expensive (Now it comes at approx Rs 40/-), still feels like one of the best breakfast that one could ever have sitting under a banyan tree in the company of friends and birds. Little sisters restaurant is now a favorite Friday night hangout place for students and business for LS is booming on weekends.
Unfortunately I did not get a chance to go to chhedis and hence no updates from there. A new canteen has come up in Neheru museum (Kali Da). Situated on the first floor of museum it is lined with arches overlooking the pristine surroundings dotted with very old banyan trees. There is a certain old world charm about this place and its a place for the romantics for sure. One could write poetry just sitting here. And hence I had to paint this place and I am glad I could paint here.
The Film
I reached KGP on 21st July (Friday). The plan was to shoot as much as possible on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday). The first place that we had planned our shoot was in Jnan Ghosh stadium on Saturday early morning. With butterflies in my stomach I hardly got any sleep on Friday night and could not wait to paint in the morning. But as luck would have it, there was a heavy downpour on Saturday morning. And the weather forecast said it was going to be raining continuously for the next 5-6 days. Talking of good starts, this situation really did not qualify to be one. But we did shoot that day albeit in a different location. Chemical department cycle stand overlooks Neheru Museum. And since it had protection overhead our first shoot happened there. Hijli detention camp was the first thing I painted and the rain just added so much character to the scene. It was as if nature created the scene especially for me to paint. Starting shoot at the old building was symbolic in a way because this is where IIT Kharagpur was started.
The next day we shot at Azad hall where the ex hall president Sashwat arranged a big umbrella for me so that I could paint under it in the rain. And thus the ball kept rolling. I was in a hurry to cover all places. But universe had other plans. It was creating the right ambiance for me to paint at different location. But I had to be patient. The footage of one of the places we shot at got deleted by accident. But it was a blessing in disguise because I really did not like what I had painted there in the first place. So we shot again and this time the painting was perfect. The director of the film Lokesh had mentioned one day that in a film director is the God. But in a documentary God is the director. And the whole experience of painting and shooting at IIT KGP turned out to be such that I had to agree with him.
I returned back from KGP on 31st July. The film now is in editors hands. Additional footage is also being captured in parallel. Background score for the film also is yet to be sorted out. At this point everyone wants to know when the film will be completed. Honestly I also cant tell. But I guess it will take at least another 30-50 odd days for sure.
Not everyone gets an opportunity to go back to IIT KGP campus to experience KGP life again. But I did and through me hopefully many of you would get a slice of the cake. I relived some old memories and created new memories. And all that probably has seeped into my works that I created there. Hopefully they will touch a chord somewhere.
And lastly I would like to thank TFPS guys and everyone who made my experience at IIT KGP such a memorable one and also those who have supported the IIT KGP En Plein Air project. Thank you for this amazing gift.
“Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one’s sensations.” -Cezanne
The sparkling morning dew on the grass that’s still refreshingly damp to touch. The whispering wind that caresses, carrying on with it the faint whiff of wildflowers and the sounds of roosting birds. The rains that darken the sky, mist the horizon and tap a melody over rustling leaves. This is what the artist is faced with when painting en plein air – where all his senses of sight, smell, sound and touch are continuously engaged, where he is in direct contact with nature’s life force. And in turn, this lends to his art something that is so invigorating – that it never fails to touch a chord with the viewer. A work done in the comfort of indoors may be technically more accomplished, but nothing can match the vitality of a watercolor painted outdoor in natural light!
The above paragraph was penned down by one of my writer friends called Amit. And I think it really captures the essence of painting en plein air. Sometimes these forces of nature have such a strong effect that a painting just happens spontaneously. But still most times there is a creative process that is at work when artists paint outdoors. This process is necessary not only to make successful paintings, but also to maximize learning and the joy of painting outdoors. This week I am headed to IIT Kharagpur, my Alma Mater to capture few of its beautiful location en plein air. And I thought it will be a good time to discuss about my creative process of painting outdoors.
The first thing that happens in any creative process is Inspiration. Morning and afternoon light has the capability to turn mundane scenes to great subjects. Hence I generally prefer to look for inspiration in the morning or in the afternoon and avoid the flat noon light. A good subject does not necessarily mean a very beautiful scene. In fact sometimes a very beautiful scene may not turn out to be a great subject. What I aim to find in a scene is basically big abstract shapes, play of light and may be an interesting perspective. What I avoid is is clutter of too many shapes and colors. When I have found my subject, the next task is to find a good place to station myself for the next 2-3 hours from where I can observe the subject and paint. In fact the spot from where I paint generally becomes more important than the subject itself because if I am not comfortable in a place it is difficult for me to paint. When I find the perfect place for the perfect subject I call it sweet spot. All this exercise of finding a sweet spot involves quiet a bit of walking and exploration. Hence I keep my outdoor equipment very light and minimal and paint on papers that are no bigger than 11 x 15 inch (quarter sheet).
Getting a Feel
To begin with I only take out my portable chair and sketchbook and just start sketching anything that catches my eye. People, trees, buildings, cars, bikes, lamp post… It could just be anything. I just sketch to get a feel of the surrounding. Most of the times I would get my figures which later come into my paintings from these sketches itself. This exercise of getting a feel this way sets off the creative process of painting outdoors and it kind of prepares me mentally.
The Thumbnail and Idea Sketches
When I have sketched enough I start narrowing down on the scene that I would be painting. I look around through a view finder made with my palms to get an idea of the portion of the scene to paint. Squinting helps to identify the big shapes in the subject at this time. When I have found my subject I do a few thumbnail/composition studies to reduce the subject to 2-3 major tonal shapes. In these sketches I may move things around, add something that may not be there (without taking away from the subject), merge shapes together. This is an exercise to get my composition right without losing the tonal layout. Sometime I even color these sketches lightly to get an idea if my color scheme will work or not.
Execution – Spontaneity v/s Original Idea
When I am done with my preparation I finally setup my easel to paint. At this point I feel I have got it all worked out in my head. I feel very confident of making a great painting. I draw my subject and then start my painting with great enthusiasm. But somewhere in the middle of the painting many a times my world comes crashing down. I find myself completely lost. After all the medium I paint in is watercolor. And it has a mind of its own. It has its own powers to guide the painting. And when that happens its always better to go with the flow. Its better to change my plans and go in the direction watercolor wants me to go. Believe me or not, most of the times it does result in a better painting. The best parts in the paintings actually turns out to be what I did not paint, so to say.
Reflection
Ninety Nine percent of the times I am not happy with my painting on location. When I get back home I put my work in a drawer or a corner so that I cant see it for a few days. When I see it after a few days it does look much better. It is probably because I do not have the actual scene in front of me to compare with. But at the same time I look at it critically and if needed I make some tonal or color corrections. One trick I learnt from a friend is to take picture of the painting, print it and then try the corrections on the print first to check if it works or not. This way I can be sure that the changes to the painting will not kill it at least.
Indoor v/s Outdoor
There are three major differences between working in the studio and working outdoors. First is the time factor. When you are painting outdoors you have to finish (or almost finish) your painting within a shorter time period. Second is the tools and materials that you can use will always remain limited. And third is that the outdoor environment is very dynamic and can be very uncomfortable. The secret to painting outdoors is to turn these into positives. Painting fast with a purpose often takes away over thinking and brings in spontaneity and freshness. Working with limited material makes the work simple which is the hall mark of a great watercolor work. And the dynamic environment is a great source of learning and also brings in new elements to one’s work.
In the end I would stress upon the fact that this is just a generalized process I follow. But in reality sometimes I don’t sketch at all and directly paint while at other times I keep sketching and never paint. While a process can help you never be afraid to go with your gut feel. Its more fun that way.
There are times when you could be at the top of your game. Painting well, painting in a good rhythm, creating masterpieces on a regular basis. But still the satisfaction of creating them is a short lived one. This little voice in your head starts whispering in your ear and keeps telling you that you have become too comfortable. And when that happens it is a tricky area to be in for an artist. You know you are in a good place and common sense tells you to enjoy it as long as it lasts. But then the creator inside you never likes to be ‘comfortable’ and wants to create something new. And funnily enough this situation is the trigger to reinventing oneself; Yet another creative process of making art.
I too am trying to reinvent myself and in this post I’ll share my method which I have followed till now.
The Comfort Zone Trap
The comfort zone builds up slowly. But it surely happens multiple times in a creative journey. Its a nice place to be in, but not for long. Because the more you get attached to it the more difficult it becomes for the artist in you to develop. So its good to be aware of this fact and just keep doing a sanity check once in a while if you are getting into the trap. A close look at your recent works will help you. Check if a certain pattern is glaring at you from those works. Check if you are getting repetitive. Do an honest assessment and your works will tell you if you are slipping into a comfort zone.
Well I did not do any such checks. I just strongly felt I need to do something new. And that I guess came from subconsciously seeing a pattern in my works.
Starting From Blank
You have identified that you are in a comfort zone and you want to break out from it. But now what. How do you let go of your style to do something new that you are not even aware of. This is a good problem to solve in the creative process of making art. I am going to tell you the process I followed and its just one way of doing things. You can invent your own method. You can even try my method. It is fun by the way.
I started from blank. I also made sure that I don’t use my regular paper, brushes and palette. First I arranged my paper, paint and brushes around me so that I can start painting as soon as I want to. Then I randomly picked a reference photo without looking at it and then closed my eyes. Next I visualized darkness and meditate on that to allow my mind to become empty. At some point I opened my eyes, looked at the reference pic for a few seconds and then started painting. I just let my hand move as fast as possible in a subconscious and spontaneous manner. I took around 10-15 minutes to paint and then went away from my easel. When I came back to it after sometime I tried to find a new visual language in it which I can pick up and explore further.
Explore and Allow Yourself to Fail
And I did find something I could pick up on. In this case because of the nature of the paper I had to limit my washes to light ones and number of layers to only two. And as I had ‘thrown’ paint at the paper, some parts of the painting was not painted. I had taken a spontaneous decision and had ‘drawn’ the unpainted parts with a rigger brush using black paint. So I decided to try these things out. That is
‘Throwing Paint and leaving a lot of white of the paper
Limiting maximum layers to only two
‘Drawing’ with rigger to suggest the unpainted parts.
Now again this step is about exploration just like the last step. But this is more conscious while the previous step was more subconscious effort. In this step as you can see from the pictures I was trying different ways of ‘throwing’ paint and leaving out whites and also different ways of drawing the unpainted details. Some seem to work while other did not. The idea here is to paint with abandon and try things without fear. The more you fail the more you learn. Allow yourself to fail in this step of Creative Process of making Art.
Finding the ‘New’
The whole idea behind the previous step of conscious exploration is to get used to the new thing you have found and establish it in your mind. The paintings that did not work teach you what to avoid and the ones that worked teach you what looks good. This way your decision making becomes better in your new found style. And as you keep painting more and more holding on to the spirit of the new method this decision making gets more refined and your muscle memory also get stronger. And then there comes a time when you become really good at it and the next comfort zone sets in. And then its time to break the barriers all over again.
As far as my exploration goes there was a divine intervention. One of my idols happened to nudge me a little to align me to the right direction through a comment on one of the works I posted on Facebook. Now I’ll try to look for subjects to suit this new style and keep refining it. As I keep at it hopefully I’ll find a new visual language somewhere on the way. And again hopefully that would lead to a set of accomplished and satisfying works till I get dissatisfied again.