Mrs. Monimala of Isha Vidhya
Nagercoil is a favorite among
her students because her arts &
crafts class is always a fun
experience for them. But thi
does not happen by accident;
she works hard to achieve it.
The teacher begins her day by
tidying up her art classroom
and spreading fragrance
throughout. She then prepares
materials in advance for all of
the day's classes, ensuring that
her students have an
uninterrupted art class.
Mrs. Monimala chose to become
an arts & crafts teacher because
she is passionate about art, and
ten years after joining the school,
she received the Isha Vidhya Arts &
Crafts Teacher of the Year 2020-21
Award in recognition of her
dedication and exceptional
performance.
Mrs. Monimala researches on
the internet for information
about different drawing and
craft techniques to encourage
her students in order to try out
new things. She says that at
Isha Vidhya students are
encouraged to understand
the concept and arrive at their
own creative interpretation
rather than copying someone
else's art. After each class,
she takes feedback from her
students to help hone their
talents better and to improve
her contribution as a teacher.
She dreams of decorating the
school with paintings and
seeing her students become
great artists.
Links:
Priyadarshini, a Class 9 student
of Isha Vidhya Cuddalore has
been interested in art and craft
since childhood. The daughter
of a fisherman, she discovered
natural colors when she couldn't
find any artificial colors at home
and now uses nothing else to
paint.
She discovered her calling at
Isha Vidhya in the craft class,
where she learned to make
artifacts out of newspaper and
dried coconut tree waste,
among other materials. She is
inspired by both local art and
Indian art forms that she
learned about in the art & craft
class at school.
A few years ago, her works that
were displayed at Sadhguru's
yoga program in Texas, US,
helped raise funds for Isha
Vidhya. Besides winning first
prize in an art & craft competition
hosted by noted film art director
Suresh Selvaraj last year,
Priyadarshini has consistently
won prizes at inter-school art
competitions.
She wants to take an art course
after Class 12 to hone her
creative skills, and then she wants
to make and sell handicrafts to
help poor students. Priyadarshini's
parents are proud of her talent
and support her.
Links:
Suriya, a Class 11 student at
Isha Vidhya Vanavasi, wants
to pursue fashion designing
after Class 12 because he was
inspired by what Steve Jobs
said about design: “Design is
not just what it looks like and
feels like. Design is how it works.”
Suriya used to enjoy drawing
pictures with his sister at home
as a child, and when he started
at Isha Vidhya, the art and craft
class took over. He enjoys drawing
because it relaxes him, and he
enjoys art class because it allows
him to be creative. Suriya loves
working with oil pastels and
has won numerous awards at
the school, district, zonal, and
national levels.
When he won third place at the
national level in the International
Child Art Talent Contest, which
included a cash prize of Rs.1,000,
he thought it was unbelievable at
first. His parents are especially
proud of his achievements because
there are no other artists in the
family.
Links:
As a kid, ShreeVishnu of Isha Vidhya
Coimbatore devoured cartoons on
TV and then discovered R. K. Laxman
and Kode BossLogic.
When he was in Class 8, he won the
’Outstanding Award‘ at the 5th
National Level Phegivef Drawing
Competition, surpassing 52 other
participants. This gifted artist has
also won a few prizes at chess
competitions.
ShreeVishnu enjoys the art and
craft class because “every day is
a new day with new things,” he
says. Colors, on the other hand,
he adores because they make his
pictures bright and his hands
messy.
In 2019, inspired by Cauvery Calling,
an initiative by Sadhguru to revive
River Cauvery, he created a widely
appreciated painting with
encouragement and motivation
from his teachers.
ShreeVishnu is now in Class 12 and
is experimenting and working on
developing his pencil shading skills.
While he is still weighing his options
for higher studies, he says he will
definitely continue to paint in the
future, too.
Links:
Deebha has been dabbling
with colors since childhood,
encouraged by parents,
despite the fact that no one
in her family is artistically
inclined. She enjoys painting
landscapes the most and
prefers to use pastel colors
because she believes they
give her drawings a more
natural look. Naturally, the
art and craft class is dear to
her, and her favorite artist
is Raja Ravi Varma.
Deebha has won awards at
both the national and district
levels in art competitions, and
she was also chosen for the
wall painting at Chennai Airport
for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
This multi-talented student has
also won awards in scientific
and athletic competitions. She
says that the numerous art
competitions held at school as
well as various locations has
helped her hone her skills while
receiving encouragement and
motivation from her teachers.
A Class 11 student at Isha Vidhya
Villupuram, Deebha is studying on
a merit scholarship for her
above-average grades in Class 10.
She intends to pursue further
studies in Computer Science while
continuing to nurture her love of
painting.
Links:
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