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| The Painter's Mistakes |
An old Indian tale goes like this: Once upon a time there
lived a great painter. His paintings were liked by one and
all. The King of the state had also honored him with the
state award for excellence. The painter was known to all his
fans as "Rangacharya" (which means as master of colors in
Hindi), affectionately called as "Ranga Guruji".
Ranga had developed a distinct painting style over the years
which was a testimony of his excellence in this field. His
hard work, commitment and dedication for the subject was an
example for many to follow. Ranga had opened an Arts School
where he use to teach the finer aspect of his art to his
chosen disciples. There was no fixed course curriculum or
duration at this school. Ranga used to declare a pupil
qualified in Arts only after he was fully satisfied about
the skill & knowledge acquired by him.
He had devised his own methods of assessment, which were
quite unique like his style of painting. Rajeev a student of
Ranga's Arts School was a man in a hurry. He had a gifted
hand and had progressed much faster than the other students
through sheer hard work, dedication, and imagination. Ranga
also was very pleased with Rajeev's progress. Having earned
a lot of praise and appreciation for his work, Rajeev was
anxiously waiting for the day when Ranga Guruji would
declare him qualified and he could begin his journey as an
artist.
One day, he very politely asked Ranga Guruji how soon he
would be able to take the final qualifying examination.
Ranga smiled and said "Rajeev, you are one of my most
promising and favorite students. You have done well in
learning all aspects of the art of painting in a very short
period. I think it's time you should take the final test."
"Kindly advise me what is my test assignment, Guruji?" it
was difficult for Rajeev to hide his happiness and
eagerness.
Ranga said "Rajeev, I want you to prepare a painting, that
could be termed as your best painting and which would win
everyone's heart. Take your own time and create a real
masterpiece." Rajeev worked day and night for many days,
prepared one of his best paintings and submitted it to Ranga
Guruji. Ranga advised "Now, take it to the main square of
the town and put it on a public display.
Let the people see your work. Write below the painting in
bold letters that the work is being displayed for public
evaluation and that the artist would feel obliged if any of
the viewers could point out any mistakes in the painting by
putting a "X" mark on it" Rajeev did exactly as advised by
Ranga Guruji. He displayed the work at a prominent spot at
the main square of the town with the message for every one
to see. A couple of days later Ranga asked Rajeev to get the
painting for assessment.
Rajeev was very excited on his way to the main square, but
got very disappointed to find that the art work was badly
defaced with "X" marks all over it. His disqualification
looked imminent as he started for the school. Rajeev showed
the painting to Guruji with a very heavy heart. But Ranga
was very calm and composed. He advised Rajeev not to get
disheartened and make another attempt. Rajeev made another
masterpiece and Ranga reiterated his earlier instructions
but with a little difference in the bottom line. This time
he asked Rajeev to also place a set of Paints and Brushes at
the site.
The message requested the viewers to find mistakes and also
correct them with the help of the painting material. A
couple of days later when Rajeev reached the main square to
collect the painting, he was pleasantly surprised to find
that not a single mistake was found in his work as the
painting material was lying in one corner untouched. Rajeev
was brimming with confidence and joy as he presented the
painting to his Guru.
Ranga smiled again and said " Rajeev, your training is
complete in all respects now with the last lesson you have
learnt today. "Rajeev was listening with rapt attention as
Ranga continued "My dear son, it is not enough to master the
art alone, if you aspire to attain greatness and excellence
in this field." "It is necessary for you to also learn that
people generally tend to be evaluative on the first
available opportunity even if they do not know anything
about it."
"If you take the world to be your judge, you would always be
disappointed. People tend to make judgments, pass remarks
on others without any authenticity and seriousness." "People
filled your first painting with "X" marks as they had
nothing at stake in doing so. Most of them were arguably not
equipped with the skill or knowledge to evaluate your work.
But still they made ample use of the opportunity that came
their way." "But when the same people were asked to not only
evaluate, find mistakes but also to correct them, none of
them came forward. This time their own knowledge and skills
were at stake.
They did not dare to bare the lack of either of these. So
they chose to stay away." Ranga continued "So my dear boy,
your work, your skills, your knowledge, your investment in
the field of Art is a precious product of your hard work
and sincere efforts. Do not offer it to the world for free.
It would otherwise be treated the way your first painting
was treated".
"Be your own judge and trade your virtues with the world for
an equitable and fair consideration. I assure you that you
would never be disappointed with yourself or your work."
"Last but not the least, it would also mean that you will
not be judgmental about other's work too!"
"May God bless you, my child!"
Rajeev had tears of respect & joy in his eyes. He knew it
deep in his heart that his training and education would have
been incomplete without this last lesson that he learned
today.
By Nitin Kulkarni |
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