Building a better future through art
Narail's renowned artist SM Sultan believed art could promote harmony. Devoting efforts to teaching children art, he thought that if a child could fully appreciate the artistic beauty of the natural world then as adults they would be less inclined towards conflict.
Unlike Sultan, Sakeb Rana, 48, of Dinajpur, is not a professional artist – although sometimes he may wish he was. Fascinated with drawing from an early age, Rana was unable to follow his passion due to his family's concern that art would not make for an easy career. He graduated in sociology and has pursued a career in the development sector. Yet his hidden dream remained.
“I had to do something for drawing and creativity,” he says. While working for a non-government organisation with the extreme poor of the North Bengali river lands, Rana dedicated his spare time to teaching rural children to draw. He organised well-received workshops at rural primary schools.
In May 2012 he decided to do more. He opened his Dinajpur town residence as a drawing school. Commencing with twelve students, his Dinajpur Drawing School has grown to 138 enrolled – 90% of them girls.
Believing in quality tuition, Rana's school is staffed by eleven volunteers who dedicate time as mentors. “The idea is to have a mentor at hand for every ten students,” Rana says.
The school, where students work in pencil, crayon and water colours, is popular. “When can we go to drawing school?” is the first thing some students ask on a Friday morning in anticipation of class, according to parental feedback. “Every Friday is like Eid,” the children say.
Classes also run on Thursdays and Saturdays, morning and afternoon. With the help of donations, fees are kept to a minimum.
Rana believes sowing the seeds of art and culture in a child's mind can bring a new dimension to just about every aspect of their lives. From planning their future homes to their professional careers, art education helps decision-making. “It also teaches better communication,” he says.
From May 2013 Rana embarked on a new venture: to bring drawing to disadvantaged children. After a process of visiting homes and interviewing parents to ensure genuinely needy children could participate, a new class was formed of students who study for free and are provided drawing materials courtesy of Rana and the school.
“I would like to develop the school into a fully fledged art institute,” Rana says. To do so, he may need to change the style of tuition which currently focuses on learning to copy two dimensional examples rather than using imagination and three dimensional objects as models. However, with Rana's enthusiasm and dedication there can be no limit to what he and his students could eventually achieve. SM Sultan surely would have appreciated his efforts.
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