Monday, September 05, 2011

Dear Teacher, (5)

I don't know if this is some kind of weird coincidence. I really don't know. I have barely been keeping track of dates and months. I just live life by the day, thats how hectic things are at lab. I can differentiate between weekdays and weekends. Thats about it.

But for some reason, yesterday, September 4th, 2011, I had an urge to go to the art store and buy myself supplies to start a painting. And for some reason, instead of starting it yesterday, I started it today, September 5th, 2011. Teacher's day in India. And from the moment my brush hit the paper, I have been thinking about you non-stop.

How old was I when I started classes with you? I can't even remember! I know I was probably in kindergarten. That was years ago. We've come a long way since. I remember my 2 hour long classes each Saturday. I remember my mother used to come with me for the classes and sit through them to make sure I wasn't being naughty and I was learning to draw. I still remember the first drawing book. Blank sheets, soon filled with crayon sketches! The left side of the book belonged to the teacher, to teach the strokes, the right side of the book belonged to the student, to master the strokes. I remember being an impatient kid. I remember longing to start trying out watercolours. But you wanted me to first learn how to draw and be confident with my crayons. Slowly but surely, we progress from the world of crayons, to the world of paint.

Today I know a whole bunch of things. I have tried out a whole bunch of things. Not just watercolours on paper. We tried fabric painting. I remember painting quite a few t-shirts for myself and a few pillow covers for my mother. We tried pencil sketching. Glass painting. Almost every form of art. For as long as I came to your house every Saturday to learn, no avenue of art was taboo for me. If anybody gives me any credit today for being creative, rest assured, its because you nurtured that artistic creativity within me.

Today, I don't know why, but my art has become a part of my personality. I can't seem to separate the two. Here in a new country, getting used to new things everyday, I find the most comforting thing I have to hold on to is the passion for art that I got over the years of training from you.

You were a marvellous teacher. No, you were more than just an art teacher to me.. You were family. You used to be my babysitter as well as my teacher. I remember, even after I grew up, even after I moved away, even after the classes came to an end, I know I still had a special place in your heart. Everytime I came to visit, you always told me how fond you are of the photograph of me, when I was in first grade, I had won a camera in a painting competition! I couldn't have done it without you (or my mom too in this case!).

I came back to India this summer, briefly. I couldn't meet you. I had gone to school to meet all my other teachers. But you had retired. One of your close friends, my sports coach, told me, you still miss me and still talk about me. She urged me to find a way to contact you. She reminded me, I was more than just a student to you. And you have taught me more than just how to paint.

I wish I could turn back time and go back to Saturday art classes with you. I wish I could go back to being a kid again, constantly unable to focus on just painting and wanting to try a million different things under your guidance. But life goes on right? We all move forward

I still sketch, I have picked up painting again. I will stay an artist for as long as I can, and I will never stop exploring new art forms.

Thank you for teaching me all the basics I needed to grow. As an artist. As a human being.

Thank you for being such an awesome teacher.

Happy Teacher's Day

Your loving student,
MG

1 comment:

Doublehead said...

As always, a wonderful and warm tribute to a Teacher from MG. Good luck with your renewed interest in ART.