I saw Durgaprasad leaning over on his table, eyes completely glued to the print he was working on. A drypoint. I was completely bowled over by his work. Dark and moody, It was almost exactly an opposite from the person who was grinning sheepishly at me, while I stood there like a gushing fan.

That was the only just the first department in the MS Baroda University we had gone into. From print making to painting to ceramics to sculpture, it was all out there. The raw energy and creativity of these young artists spread out all over the walls, corners and niches. Speaking to them I realised that I have missed interacting with artists that are out there trying to grasp onto what will become their style, just like I am.

With a history of about 58 years, MS Baroda University holds an unbeatable record with the kind of artists it has produced over the past 5 decades. There are some who made it big and some who probably vanished without a trace. Shelly Jyoti,  Nasreen Mohamedi, Vivan Sundram, Dhruva Mistry, Chintan Upadhaya, Indrapramit Roy and several others who have significantly contributed to contemporary art in India are all associated with the Baroda university.

In 2007, a student of the university was attacked while exhibiting his work for the faculty as a final year thesis display. The attack eventually led to the suspension of the dean and the return of the student to his native town in AP.

Where should we draw the line when it comes to expressing ourselves?  Why should any form of articulation (especially when it is not harmful to anyone) be taboo? My generation seems to be torn between tradition and breaking away into a more independent cosmopolitan way of thought. With an ever-growing need to find a place in this world, I hope our society becomes a little more open-minded when it comes to our artists.

As I walked out of the university with these thoughts in my head, I hoped that Durgaprasad would find a way to continue expressing himself.

Trivia: Drypoint is an engraving method in which the art work to be printed is scratched directly into a copperplate (and also acrylic sheet) with a sharply pointed instrument.