Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Karnataka (CUK) H.M. Maheshwaraiah has said that the varsity would soon establish a separate Fine Arts and Music department.
Paying rich tributes to the contribution of eminent painter S.M. Pandit to the world of fine arts at the inauguration of his year-long birth centenary celebrations in Kalaburagi city on Sunday, Prof. Maheshwaraiah said a university without a Fine Arts and Music Department could not be considered a centre of higher education.
“Music and Fine Arts are a part of our life, and the music and works of fine arts speak volumes of our rich culture and traditions. This should be kept alive and studied,” he said.
The VC said Dr. Pandit was an exceptional artist and there is an urgent need to protect his priceless paintings and sketches available with his family members and private collectors.
He said each and every work of the artist is a masterpiece, and the details in these paintings and the minimal colour used to bring out the maximum life in the artwork is rarely found elsewhere. “A separate gallery where a certain temperature is maintained to protect the colour details in the paintings needs be established in Kalaburagi city to preserve the paintings of Dr Pandit,” he said.
Dr. Maheshwaraiah also stressed the need for providing training to children in schools in understanding the nuances of paintings so that the painstaking work of the artists is understood properly and enjoyed.
He said the CUK would also organise a seminar on the works of Dr. Pandit to commemorate his birth centenary celebrations and during the seminar a training session on art appreciation would also be held to benefit the students of the varsity.
Rajya Sabha MP Basavaraj Patil Sedam presided over the function.
