The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Art should be an integral part of education: V.P. Dhananjayan

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Saturday, Jan 23, 2010
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Art should be an integral part of education: V.P. Dhananjayan

Special Correspondent

Observation and listening are fundamental to learning, says Sudha Raghunathan

— PHOTO: V. GANESAN

Bharatnatyam exponent V.P. Dhananjayan, vocalist Sudha Raghunathan and S. Abhaya Kumar, Director, Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd, at the inauguration of Kala Utsav of SSS Shasun Jain College for Women in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: Art should be an integral part of education since the discipline that art inculcates is important, Bharatnatyam exponent V.P. Dhananjayan said here on Friday.

Inaugurating the Kala Utsav of Shri Shankarlal Sundarbai Shasun Jain College for Women, he said students must retain their cultural identity even when they are in another nation.

“Education should inculcate humility. Learning from a guru teaches humility. Performing arts helped preserve culture. The monuments in our country are a legacy left to us. Art carries the culture forward,” Mr. Dhananjayan said.

Vocalist Sudha Raghunathan said observation and listening were fundamental to learning. It is these skills that help a person absorb and imbibe what one has learnt in college.

‘Embrace art form’

She urged the students to make the best use of every moment spent in college. “Every student should embrace some art form,” she said.

The cultural extravaganza put up by the students was aimed at showcasing the aesthetic skills of the students, said student advisor Jaya Venugopal. None of them had any prior training in the performing and non-performing arts to which they were introduced, she added.

The several hundred students who participated in the various events were introduced for the first time to the art form that they presented on Friday.

The effort was aimed at providing holistic education to the students.

Non-performing arts

Apart from dance and music, students also showcased their talent in non-performing arts such as drawing, embroidery, sewing and fashion designing, she said.

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