A person once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God.. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage."

The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked.

"There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work.

"Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not.

"Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency...

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written by Pavalamani Pragasam, December 18, 2009

True! Fountainhead?

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written by umbrella, December 19, 2009

Sounds like my kinda ideal professional! Just imagine where our country wd be if everyone acts with such conscience!

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written by Pavalamani Pragasam, December 19, 2009

Utopian dream!!!

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written by Santosh, December 20, 2009

Judging a creation is the prerogative of the masses and not the creator. A great artiste is one who has a great following and patronage. An artiste draws satisfaction and motivation from his work based on the volume of admirers and honestly no one can deny this.
Excellence is very relative but it is essentially a title that is given by others for your work.

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written by Pavalamani Pragasam, December 20, 2009

Santhosh, what you say is suitable for 'ordinary' artists who prosper on proper admiration. But THERE IS a 'Fountainhead' type of genius which does not care a wee bit about what others think, personal satisfaction is of supreme importance. A humble admission about my own habit - I write an article(poem, story, review etc) for my own satisfaction alone: I derive a sort of pleasure like that of delivering a baby. But after the writing is over I care little about either praise or criticism about it.

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written by Pavalamani Pragasam, December 20, 2009

Santhosh, what you say is suitable for 'ordinary' artists who prosper on proper admiration. But THERE IS a 'Fountainhead' type of genius which does not care a wee bit about what others think, personal satisfaction is of supreme importance. A humble admission about my own habit - I write an article(poem, story, review etc) for my own satisfaction alone: I derive a sort of pleasure like that of delivering a baby. But after the writing is over I care little about either praise or criticism about it.

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written by Pavalamani Pragasam, December 20, 2009

oops! Double posting!

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written by Santosh, December 21, 2009

Ma'am ppmani, your potential as a writer is never in doubt. However it is important that you are read extensively as well. Basically all human beings look at themselves through the eyes of others and this is particularly true with artistes. Perhaps if you would have been a writer by profession you would have seen my point.
However I for one enjoy all that you write and have felt bad on occasions when the same had not been acknowledged at various forums.

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written by Pavalamani Pragasam, December 22, 2009

You are right! But it is pathetic to see praise going to the head of some talented persons who then stop growing!!! Praise and acclaim are like a double-edged sword- it can make or break, encourage to do better or breed vanity. But there is a rare category of different genius who are left unmoved by praise or criticism.

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written by IdleMind, December 24, 2009

Excellence is in the way an artiste shows the commitment and dedication to the art. The public praise comes much later ... only if the artwork is exposed to the public. I agree when the desire to excel comes from within, and that's the first step in commitment to the cause of art.

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