He who has an art has everywhere a part

Nekchand is one of India's modern garden designers. He was not born great. He achieved greatness. How did he find fame? By turning junks into works of art. Years ago, in the sixties he was working in the horticulture department at Chandigarh. His pay was low. He just managed to make both ends meet. Yet he never grumbled about his lot. Work, for him, was worship. Luckily the work he did was much after his heart. For he was a lover of nature and art. He found delight in planting saplings and helping them grow. It was fun laying seeds and waiting for them to grow, dress themselves up in lovely colourful flowers and dance with the wind. One morning, in spring, he came out of his house. He had a bag in his hard. He walked, slowly along the footpath. He often stopped on sighting a bed of roses or large dahlia's or Chrysanthe- mums. He walked slowly, taking in the feast of colours. Hardly had he covered a hundred yards when his eyes fell on a pile of broken chinaware. It was lying on one side. The rays of the sun fell upon the pile and lighted up the junk. Nekchand was captivated by the beauty of the broken bits. He could nottakehis eyes away. The bits and pieces took in the sun and gained myriad shades. Before his very eyes, Nekchand saw the broken bits recreating a rainbow of colours. Could he find the pieces a place where their power to refract sunlight could be increased? Would the pieces then become truly great work of art? Nekchand stood and watched for quite some time. A smile lit up his face. "This is it," he said and started gathering the pieces in his bag.
The broken bits jingled and jangled as Nekchand moved to a deserted location. He fixed the broken bits on the slopes of the mount which stood in bold relief against the rays of the sun. It was hard work. Nekchand shifted a few pieces. He rearranged them, shuffled them around. This went on for quite some time. Finally he felt pleased with the effect. He grinned happily and turned homewards, with light steps. From then on, discards became a passion with him. He saw art in every junk—rusted steel plates; twisted barbed wires; bits and pieces of glassware. He visited every junkyard in the town and had his pick. To kabadiwallahs he turned for further junk. He blended the discards. Gradually a garden emerged where there once was barren rocky land. Soon, people came to know about Nekchand's efforts. They came, went round the garden and hailed Nekchand for his work. Government too recognised his merit. Today, Nekchand's Gar- den at Chandigarh is a unique site. It is art created out of junk. One fan, after going round the garden, said, "He who has an art has everywhere a part."


Meaning: A true artist has the ability to create something beautiful out of ordinary things.

Alternatives: A thinking man is always striking out something new. A truly great man has the courage to be different.