I was a student at the M.S. University at Vadodara when I heard the good news that K.G. Subramanyam, the great artist and academician, was joining our institute as a professor of painting. A brilliant scholarly mind, we were fortunate to have him in our midst. It was his friend Sankho Chaudhary, himself an exceptionally gifted sculptor, who had to do all the persuasion to make him come all the way from London to join the institute’s faculty of fine arts.
An affable personality, he was liked by everyone because of his deep knowledge and good nature. We affectionately referred him as Mani Sir, who was known for teaching students the scientific way. He had an economics background but this did not come his way while talking about the world of art, explaining new and old concepts in straightforward manner. He was an expert when it came to explaining things theoretically.
As a teacher he took all his classes with seriousness of intent yet was accommodating when it came to his students, listening with rapt attention their questions and trying to give them best possible cogent answers. Always welcoming when it came to clearing doubts, he went to great lengths to explain varied techniques of sketching or talking to a student separately so that his understanding could be at par with other students. He would explain things and then ask students to practically show how they had learnt. He had strong observation skills.
Influenced by the Gandhian philosophy while doing his bit during the Freedom Struggle, Mani Sir would come to the university dressed nattily in khadi kurta and pyjama. That image is still etched in my mind of this guru, whose teachings need to be made compulsory for the benefit of students of fine arts in all institutions across the country.
Once while explaining a subject, Mani Sir forgot to eat his lunch. He told the class that he would head for home at 12 noon to eat his lunch but a student asked him a probing question about art and he went on and on. This went on for long hours. While teaching he would often forget his lunch. It clearly highlights his sincerity as far as his students were concerned. Always conscious about students’ interest, never sparing a thought that his teaching was eating into his personal space. He was immensely likeable as he was not only an exceptionally gifted teacher, who was articulate when it came to talking about his subject, but also a person with humane qualities.
Language was his strong point. His lucid language would help students to understand better and fast. He would converse in both English and Hindi to make all students understand the concepts he was explaining. Arrogance never came his way.
Although he knew that certain artists had the potential to rise great heights, nevertheless he gave equal preference to all students. He would explain how light was important while sketching He was a master of drawing and would teach students about different techniques of sketching and drawing in great detail in simple yet profound language. .
(As told to Madhur Tankha)
