In contrast to Abanindranath, Rabindranath, and Gandhi, Havell, Coomaraswamy, and Okakura are credited for their methodology. In contrast to many of his contemporaries, he recognized the importance of Havell's ideas, particularly his emphasis on preserving traditional artisanal skills and using civic art to rebuild India's cultural identity. In the same way, Coomaraswamy taught him to see traditional crafts and arts as part of a single spectrum, shaped by different social needs, but with a visual language that becomes more complex as it moves from functionality to expression. Taking after Okakura, he taught art practice must be shaped in equal measure by tradition, nature, and the artist's individuality, and that any predominance of one aspect will result in work that is idiosyncratic or imitation, or repetitive.