Student Opinions
I joined with a lot of apprehension as to whether I would actually be confident enough to paint ...
Vineet Chawla
After joining in the academy how you responded to this kind of learning?
I have my work speak for itself! I joined with a lot of apprehension as to whether I would actually be confident enough to paint but as the class is progressing, I feel my doubts are being laid to rest.
Now what you are thinking about painting?
I am becoming more confident with each passing day & thoroughly enjoying myself. I hope to take it up professionally one day !
What kind of help you are getting in class room from Magunta Dayakar?
Mr. Dayakar is an excellent teacher & his methodology of teaching, though very different, is conducive to each student in her own way. He gauges the students' needs & accordingly instructs her which I believe,is the best way to teach!
Tell us frankly about Magunta Dayakar and his Academy?
I have learnt not only to paint, but a new dimension of thinking & evaluating a subject is being slowly nurtured by Mr. Dayakar. I have personally benefitted a lot from the academy and would even go to the extent of advising prospective students that they would surely benefit immensely by joining the academy!
- Vineet Chawla
I am amazed every single day in the process of learning. There is so much to learn,so much depth and science involved.
-Annapurna
After joining in the academy how you responded to this kind of learning?
I was skeptical before entering the academy,the search ended once i met Mr Magunta dayakar. This learning has taught me that the only way to learn is to work towards the learning..Mr Dayakar ensures that the student fights on her own and achieves her goals. I have known of two kinds of guidance...1 )Giving the fishor 2)teaching the art of fishing.., in this academy the teacher follows the latter.
Now what you are thinking about painting?
I am amazed every single day in the process of learning. There is so much to learn,so much depth and science involved. The satisfaction of creating a beautiful picture is unfathomable. I could not have asked for a better teacher. who has also changed the way I look at life and the world.
What kind of help you are getting in class room from Magunta Dayakar?
There is personal guidance from Mr Dayakar who discusses art, artists,old masters in the broader aspect; He has shown during his teaching that every painting reflects the character,life”s experiences and the state of mind the artist is in at the time of his painting. He encourages and pushes the student to do her best and to achieve her best. Each student is taught according to her abilities though the basic syllabus is the same for all.
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Before joining the Academy I had no knowledge about painting though I did visit art galleries out of interest and I sincerely never thought of learning painting.
I was into interior design and wanted to learn sketching to improve my presentation skills for which I joined the academy.
-Kranthi
After joining in the academy how you responded to this kind of learning?
It took a while for me to understand the learning system in depth at the academy. If I recollect the way I responded as soon as I joined I was enjoying the learning system but knew no reasons why.
And was surprised when sir said ‘ Art is science ’.
Now what you are thinking about painting?
Painting is much beyond brushes, colours and canvass. These are only the tools.
It is infact science i.e understanding nature, understanding yourself, the way you deal with life in whole.
So, through painting we actually improve our approach , character , attitude or to put it in nutshell our ‘ thinking system ‘.
What kind of help you are getting in class room from Magunta Dayakar?
He is making me achieve things on my own in the right direction and the right way.
If one does not understand the learning system here they might feel he is indifferent but actually he spends time on thinking about teaching every student according to their individual mindset.
I feel fortunate being a student of Dayakar sir.
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The initial few days were tough as I began from scratch in a more scientific and rigorous way. There were times I felt I will never be able to become an artist. But after the first few classes...
-Madhurima
What did you think about learning painting before joining in Magunta Dayakar’s academy of Painting?
I felt I had the natural skill or talent and wanted someone to sharpen my skills and teach me techniques, so that I could successfully capture my ideas on paper and canvas. To me this seemed enough at that time. I used to draw n paint since childhood but always faced some problems and was not able to improve beyond a level, I wanted someone to assist me develop beyond these limitations.
I joined summer camps and several art schools…but was not satisfied. There was something missing in the teachers and their style of teaching. And at the end of the process I lacked the most essential – self confidence. There was always this feeling that I haven’t yet learnt that which I need to. But since I didn’t know what exactly I had to learn I felt a faceless formless despair- a trap I did not know how to escape.
After joining in the academy how you responded to this kind of learning?
When I first learnt about the school, it was way back in the last months of 2003 from an article published in the Hindu news paper, it seemed to me as if each word was addressed just to me and my problem. A few days later I met sir and was quite convinced that he knows the path I have been searching for, but had no clue of. However, owing to certain personal reasons I could join the academy only in 2006. Since then there has been no looking back. This place has been “a dream come true” for me.
The initial few days were tough as I began from scratch in a more scientific and rigorous way. There were times I felt I will never be able to become an artist. But after the first few classes I not only got conditioned to the new mode rather began copying drawings quite successfully. This was something I could never do before. It instilled a sense of confidence in me I was seeking for long.
After sketching I was excited to start painting but had my own doubts – as to whether I would be able to do half as good as others were doing. The answer came a week later in the form of my first horse-head in monochrome. It surprises me even today and not to mention all my friends and relatives. Had I not struggled with it myself I would have scarcely believed in my own signature on it.
Since that first horse-head it has been a rigorous but colourful and exciting journey. After the initial copies from works of masters and foreign authors I was made to compose my own “stills lifes”. And the latter I would say is the best stimulant for ones brain after the former has trained one sufficiently with how to handle materials and proceed on the canvas.
Today I know I have a long way to go and I am glad because unlike many struggling artists who have no way I have a way and a guide to guide me through. This knowledge stimulates, challenges and at the same time lovingly beacons.
What kind of help you are getting in the class-room from Magunta Dayakar?
This institute operates on a self- taught method and is the right place for one who wants to work hard and strive for perfection. We are all given sufficient space and material to work on our own and a right atmosphere rest our minds and bodies while working. Sir only tells us how to begin and gives us his valuable guidance when based on his discretion he feels it right to intervene.
He is however constantly available and observant about the works and progress of each student and lightens the moods in hours of strenuous struggle with colours through his interesting anecdotes and witty comments. Even when he is seemingly talking about issues other than painting, the essence of his talk is always linked to life and the art of thinking, which works as a kind of catalyst.
Tell us frankly about Magunta Dayakar and his Academy?
This is the ultimate destination for all those who want to learn, understand and live art, atleast in India. It closely resembles salons run by masters in Paris and Rome in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sir like a good diver teaches you how to measure the depths of this scary ocean by pushing you into it and letting you struggle and helps you with oxygen only when you can’t proceed without it.
Well, this place is scary as you are taught art as if it were diving into the sea and that too without any swimming pool crash courses. But as Mark Twain rightly said “Courage is not absence of fear but mastery over it” – and this place is the best one to face the haunting blank canvas and master it.
And as regards sir, some people have to be met for one to believe in them- angels, devils and a few mortals like Magunta Dayakar. A day with him, especially if you are lucky enough to see him paint, will shock you into disbelieve and haunt you for long as to who is right- you and the entire society or this man. You might hate him and choose to ignore him to avoid all the conflicts he raises in your mind about your existence but something in you will like him, I bet- the creative spirit of the cosmos which resides in every bit of the universe, ever since big bang. |
