India's best colleges: How Varanasi helps BHU's Faculty of Visual Arts stay on top
Helped by the sights and sounds of Varanasi, this institution trains students to incorporate everyday life experiences into their creations.
How Time Flies. I joined the Faculty of Visual Arts at the Banaras Hindu University in 2010 for a Masters in Fine Arts and went on to pursue my research here. In all these years, I have never stopped appreciating how welcoming BHU is to newcomers: a vast, green and peaceful campus away from the chaos of Varanasi. Even more attractive is the Faculty of Visual Arts, with sculptures and installations around. The range of courses offered is mind-boggling-applied arts, painting, sculpture, textiles, pottery and ceramic, print-making and history of visual arts.
During my masters, while I was under the supervision of one teacher, I was always free to interact with any of the faculty members. Our dean Professor Hiralal Prajapati's inputs and knowledge about advertising design and applied arts always encouraged us to push the boundaries in our creations. While we would feel overburdened by the daily classes, assignments and tight exam schedules, you now realise it was all for the good-a baptism by fire.
I feel proud that the BHU campus is ragging-free, has a nice mix of students, a distinguished faculty and facilities such as free internet, free healthcare, art labs, a rich library and 24-hour power supply. We get ample opportunity to take part in art competitions and apply for fellowships with the HRD ministry.
Our teachers are our best guides - both in and outside class. But they never hesitate to pull us up when assignments are missed or sloppy work is presented. There's also cut-throat competition between the students. It can get frustrating at times, but an odd movie or leisure walk down Varanasi's ghats helps us spring back into action.
The city of Varanasi, with its heady mix of spirituality, culture and heritage, offers students endless inspiration and material for their creations. Campus life is fun - with an array of cultural activities, art competitions and events, exhibitions, sports, music, singing, dancing. If you have the talent, BHU provides the platform. The two national art galleries here put up exhibitions by eminent artists, and even we get the freedom to exhibit our work. National and international artists keep visiting our department to interact with us.
The annual art fair is a three-day affair, with the works displayed for sale. Besides, the faculty members organise art events outside the campus, where we leave our mark by participating and wining prizes.
The department has a good record in campus placements. Students get placed across industries, and even find government jobs easily. Those who don't, get freelance projects to work on. Our alumni include names from the film, advertising and design industries. Many are into academics, animation, scriptwriting and photography. The alumni are supportive and encouraging. Their campus visits are trips down memory lane, occasions to look forward to.
The author is a research scholar at the Faculty of Applied Arts, BHU.