A fresh approach

The Souparnika Art Gallery in Manipal founded by K. Surendran Nair has interesting ventures for art appreciators

Photo Courtesy: Karishma Hansen

The boundless borders of art captivate our minds. With simple strokes and mesmerising colours, art has its own way of enlightening lives. The new insight it provides to the viewer could be the real realm that enables the art to be a regenerator of community.

Souparnika Art Gallery in Manipal lives up to such expectations. Within its small space dedicated to paintings, sculptures and various other art forms, the gallery offers an avenue for art lovers of the city to explore its various dimensions.

No conventional drawing classes here

Being a place that welcomes all, even the uninitiated, the gallery does not have the the haughty air of playing art promoter.

Founder K. Surendran Nair has been a sculptor and painter in Ajman Fort and Museum for the past twenty years. He believes art to be the perfect way to expose the best in man. He believes in maintaining the rhythm of the body and finds art as a means towards this end. The gallery intends to shape the creativity of young minds. The customary concept of classes to impart drawing skills is absent here. Rather, Nair tries to mould the creativity he believes is present in every individual. “Art is an exercise by which you can find something within yourself; it's not knowledge to impart,” he reiterates.

The paintings in the gallery facilitate visitors to see everything artistic — they may spot beauty in every weird combination of colours and strokes. The amalgamation of different styles lead to a varied understanding too. This leads to new idea generations and fresh perspectives on things around.

With twenty long years of experience as a curator in Ajman Fort and Museum, Nair has wide exposure to art forms from across the globe.

He finds traces of Indian art in Ajman art forms. Furniture, traditional equipments carry similar designs as that of Indian artefacts. “This is the biggest proof that shows India and Gulf countries had trade exchange between them,” he points out.

Exploring further into the similarities of paintings between the countries, he finds the framework of Indian paintings to be the biggest. “We have Kalamkari, Madhubani, Pahari, Rajasthani, Batik, Mughal and many such kinds of painting. In Gulf countries, the paintings are based mostly on calligraphy. But whatever the difference in art forms, every country tries to reflect their culture through art,” he added.

While the gallery welcomes technological advancements in art, Nair stresses the need to maintain the basic hand-balance of drawing, which tends to loosen up when you become dependent on computers for the generation of art forms. “The technology has helped to ease the process of sculpting. Hand works are tedious and many sculptors of the present generation do not prefer to pursue it.”

Souparnika Art Gallery has some of the prestigious exhibitions in its profile. One such was the exhibition-cum-workshop conducted at Kollur Mookambika temple in January 2012. It was organised on the birthday of the singer K.J. Yesudas. Artists from various parts of the country contributed their time and talent in the temple premises to bring out some of the admirable pictures, which are now part of the gallery.

Souparnika Art Gallery has a lot more in store. An exhibition on murals is coming up next. The gallery has plans to co-ordinate with ASARE, the home for mentally challenged children to impart a sense of colour to its citizens through chromotherapy. It is a healing method in which light, in the form of colour, is used to balance energy in the human body. This is sometimes called colour therapy. Rotary Club of Manipal is a strong supporter of the Gallery on its voyage.

RIA LAKSHMAN. V

This article is published in The Hindu-Metroplus, Mangalore edition on 12th May 2012.

Link-http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/article3410190.ece

Restroom horrors

Washing hands Could go a long way in preventing infections

Recently, the World Health Organization reported that poor hygiene and toilet habits have cost the life of thousands in Asia. As per the report, out of 1.8 million worldwide deaths from poor hygiene, two-thirds are from Asia with more than half in India and China. This raises the issue of lack of proper sanitation in India. This is mainly because of improper maintenance, improper usage of toilets, improper ventilation, lack of awareness about healthy habits and illiteracy. “We have eight bathrooms but only one is functional,” says Rekha, a final-year microbiology student in the city. “We don’t even have sufficient number of mugs and buckets,” she adds. Of course, extra care is taken to maintain only the staff toilets.

Unhygienic

Tamil Selvi, a class IV student from a reputed school says she never turns to ‘that’ area because it makes her nauseous. Sometimes, the students are forced to carry water bottles due to lack of water supply. “Because some children avoid using unhygienic toilets, they may develop urinary tract infection at a later stage," says Dr. Mohan Stephen, a child specialist. He also points out that the flies in toilets are major carriers of cholera and typhoid. “Though preventive vaccinations and medicines are available, the danger still remains.”

Foul odour and slippery floors are signs of improper maintenance. Germs thrive in such restrooms. Lack of supplies such as water, mugs, buckets and dustbins prevent users from keeping the toilets clean. Those infected by germs are likely to transfer them through contact with door handles and taps. Though one cannot avoid the germs completely, the simple act of washing one’s hands can drastically reduce the chance of germ transference.

Experts say that the Government should intervene and pay more attention to sanitation. Awareness creation and privatisation of public toilets, education on healthy habits and proper toilet design can alter the situation significantly. “Above all, everyone should try and maintain the public toilets the way they would their own toilets at home,” says Dr. Stephen.

Doctors point out that women’s restrooms have twice the bacteria than men’s; also they are more prone to related diseases. More people like Sudha Krishnan are called for. A medical officer at PSG Urban Centre, Coimbatore, she conducts awareness programmes regularly to make the 22 slums in her area disease-free.

To educate the public, Domex, a Hindustan Unilever product has launched a campaign on toilet hygiene in association with the Indian Medical Association, Mumbai. The objective is to share the findings of the Unilever Global Research Centre (on the harm caused by microscopic germs lurking in toilets) with the public.

RIA LAKSHMAN. V

This article is published in The Hindu Metroplus (Chennai and Coimbatore edition) on 10th July 2008.

Link-http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/07/10/stories/2008071050690300.htm

Faculty development

Angel College of Engineering and Technology, Tirupur, recently conducted a seven-day faculty development programme on “Learn to Teach.” The programme included classes on health and hygiene, working in a professional environment and teamwork.

S.Sadasivam, Dean of Kumaraguru College of Technology, spoke on time management, planning and prioritisation. P.Sivakumar, Chief Executive Officer of the college, stressed the need for counselling. N.Gunasekharan, principal of the college, advised the teachers to follow ethical methods of instruction. Other speakers dealt with topics such as improving vocabulary, public speaking, the need to be assertive.

RIA LAKSHMAN. V

This news report is published in The Hindu Education Plus (Coimbatore edition) on June 30th 2008

Link-http://www.hindu.com/edu/2008/06/30/stories/2008063050660600.htm

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Who is Chikki?

That is me-Ria Lakshman V.

An aspiring journalist would be the right way to define me. It is now the gurukulam era and I spend part of the days honing my skills to accomplish the dream. The rest of the time I spend freelancing for few websites, newspapers and most importantly, to snore and eat. I do not claim to be a dexterous writer or a crackerjack in anything. Rather, I possess a passion for the career and own a determination to succeed.

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I have incorporated few of my works published in newspapers and other sources as well. These are the other extensions of my journey so far. I also plan to extend this blog into my other areas of interest - drawing and painting which are in the offing.