INDIRA - NURTURING TALENT

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

‘Canopy Azure – Art & Design Community’, a brainchild of Indira Pai Anglo, has come a long way from its informal inception several years back.

Indira, a commercial art graduate, never really indulged in serious commercial art. In spite of being a trained commercial photographer with laudable skill and amazing eye for aesthetics, she resolved to dedicate her life in the promotion of art and nurturing talent.

Soon after her graduation from the Goa College of Art, Indira plunged into the field of teaching and began offering classes for art enthusiasts. Minus active publicity and promotion, she began to get overwhelming response. Almost two decades into running an informal class, ‘Canopy Azure – Art &
Design Community’ got a concrete and formal form.

Things began to look brighter after she formalized the classes by registering it in the beginning of 2012. ‘I realized that the interest in art and the awareness has risen to an unexpected level,’ says Indira with a satisfied smile. ‘Gone are the days when art was a subject of amusement.’

Soon after the launch of ‘Canopy Azure’, Indira organized an exhibition of the art works produced by her students at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. It had over 200 art works on display followed by another one for the Rotary Club. She is flooded with the students from the age group of 5 to 60 plus enthusiasts.

‘There’s no particular age to start practicing art,’ says Indira with a reassuring voice. ‘I have students above 60 who had unfulfilled desire to take up art as a profession. Here, they feel, they have the opportunity to relive those days.’

Indira began by organizing and holding art and craft camps during the summer vacations whilst attending to her domestic responsibilities. ‘I’m indebted to my husband, Janardhan, for his wholehearted support and guidance,’ remarks Indira with deep reverence.

Her daughter, Uttara is an aspiring interior designer and the other progeny, Ashlesha, is studying in junior college.

Indira has gone beyond family responsibility and classroom teaching. ‘I got the opportunity to give back to the community when ‘Konkani Bhasha Mandal’ decided to open ‘Ravindra Kelekar Knyan Mandir’, an English medium school in Margao,’ states Indira.

She, along with her current and past students, painted the wall opposite this school as a publicity event. The wall transformed into a message board that spoke for the women and gave voice to the issues concerning them.   

‘Artists are social beings and have social responsibilities,’ states Indira with satisfied glee.

Many of her students displayed commendable works at the recently concluded art exhibition at the Kala Academy, Panaji. Notable amongst them are Dr. Amla Kamat, Natarajan, Shaheen Sayed, Dr. Ankita, Vaishnavi Morajkar, Villi Timblo, Varali Shirodkar, Apurva, Ila Shiva, Manashri Pai and many others.

This was the third show in a row where Indira showcased her students’ works and she plans to go a long way in identifying, nurturing and promoting art enthusiasts.