Infamous Gandhi statue - The first secret we hear.

This infamous statue is the work of Debi Prasad Roy Chowdry, the first Indian principal of the Government College of Arts Chennai. He ruled for almost 30 years from then as principal.

Seeing this on Sculpey's blog has made me very nostalgic of the first secret we hear from teachers to students at college. This statue is the first favourite topic discussed by almost all the teachers to the eager first year students. Unfortunately each teacher believes they are the first ones imparting this very important secret to you.

Students will huddle around the masters with elbows on plaster covered old wooden tables. The teacher will say... "attention to detail" that is what you will learn here in the next years to come. So we think okay that's a good thing to learn. Not bad. Then the teachers will pull out a something special. A photograph. Old and touched by generations of students and masters. These photogtraphs no longer have an edge... only frayed photo paper peeled torn and curled up into a paper mache frame.

Each teacher has a favourite place for this one photograph. Under the glass cover on their side of the table, inside their oldest book of notes, folded in four creases and saved in their wallets, padded inside a brown paper cover of nalli silks.

This prized possession will be held up by the teacher and shown in an arc slowly and will pass under our noses steadily till each one of us has a good glimpse of this picture. It's the picture of the infamous gandhi statue on the marina beach. We all know it. We all remember the first time we saw it. We all remember making plans to meet someone by the gandhi statue. We've all made observations of the crows that perch on his head and the crap that got cleaned once a year for his birthday. As a first year artist in making we all take pride in the fact that this statue was built by none other than the one and only Debi Prasad Roy Chowdry when he was ruling the scene. But what else?

The teacher's eye would light up and ask "What's wrong with this statue?". It's our first day. It's a big deal to not look like the dumbest idiot who joined the clan. So each one of us will respond to save our graces. It's too tall, his head is too small, there is no salt, Gandhi was brown not black ... and so on and so forth.

The teacher will shake his head. We understand it. He's thinking, "These kids, they'll never learn. Tsk Tsk."

The teacher will then prepare to unfold the secret. Again each one in their own style clearing the throat, flipping the photo on the table and leaning back on their chairs, tapping each of their fingers on the photo for a few seconds while he looks into our eyes with a smirk in his own, chuckling a bit and shaking his head, or a heavy long sigh.

"This is not the way a man walks!" Huh! One of us would be made to walk. The entrance is critical. We will step out of class and enter and walk sheepishly. That's not enough. "Walk like Gandhi! Chin up! Chest up! Ah too much... that's like He-Man." Some teachers will walk themselves and show you. Then the bulb lights up. Left leg front, right hand up. Right leg front? Left hand up :)

This is our teachers' moment. They make their point. They don't need to be teaching first year duds. They need to be prinicpals of art colleges. Their observation is immaculate. Their reasoning awesome. Their jobs ... two low for their awesomeness.

"If ever we are commissioned to re do that damn statue... this is how we'd do it.

"Right hand up. Left leg front!"

They will all add.

"And by the way the Monroe statue! No stirrups! How did Monroe get on the horse? With a ladder?"

http://kalpanabalaji.blogspot.com/2011/07/steps-to-reach-gandhi.html

Kalpana Balaji is an architect and a friend. She's been drawing for years. Follow her impressions of Chennai on her blog.