Counselling Psychologist & Mental Health Coach for Women

Q 1 – Please Introduce yourself, your work etc. I am Anu Pattnaik, a 27 years old On-set photographer based in Mumbai. So far I have worked on six Bollywood movies. I have worked with production houses like Code Red Films, Excel Entertainment, Phantom Films to name a few. I started my career as an On-set photographer with the movie “Budhia Singh – Born to run.” Then “Waiting”, “Three Storeys” , “Bhavesh Joshi” happened. Then I covered the sets of “Bombay Talkies 2” for Dibakar Banerjee. I have also covered a schedule for the movie “Raees” but had to quit the project due to a personal mishap. You can check my IMDb link here –http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7614626/ Q 2 – Was it always your dream to become an artist, if not how did you made the choice? (educational background etc) I always knew I would end up doing something creative in life. Just did not know what exactly! I wanted to be a painter when I was in school. Then I started learning both painting and classical singing at the same time.My dad wanted me to be a singer. HAHA! Back then I learned everything just for fun. But in the back of my mind I always knew that in the long run I will end up as an artist. Then during my engineering days(Yes, I am an engineer!!!) I developed a taste in movies and wanted to be a cinematographer. And finally ended up as an On-set photographer. Q 3 – who or what was your inspiration? Talking about inspiration I would say that everything and almost everyone around me inspired me because I would look at something, find a story in it, relate to it and like to capture it. I never NEVER click anything I don’t relate to. And now I follow a lot of people’s work and get inspiration from them. So, naming one won’t do justice at all. Also, it is important in one’s life to draw inspiration from every aspect of life and not just any specific work because everything you look at is an art in itself. Q 4 – Please tell us about your milestone journey, especially the difficulty you faced? One of the major difficulties I faced was to convince my parents and make them realize that I actually want to go to Bombay and try my luck there. A lot of times I would tell my Dad that I want to drop engineering and pursue cinematography. And that I want to apply for Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He asked me to finish my graduation, score a minimum 7 CGPA in my engineering career so that I can always come back and be a software engineer. HAHA! I did score 7 CGPA but was adamant and kept trying for FTII simultaneously but never got selected. Also, I never sat for the engineering jobs in campus selection. Because I knew if I did that then I would have never been in Bombay. After coming to Bombay I applied for FTII again and got selected for the Film Appreciation course which is basically a crash course. That one month at FTII changed my life and I knew that I have to work in films! Ups and downs kept happening and I never lost my hope. Until the time when I lost my Dad suddenly of a cardiac arrest. I was already going through a phase of depression(because of my personal life) when I signed my third movie. Then “RAEES” happened and I thought that it would be the biggest break in my career. I did meet some great people on the set including the king of bollywood SRK. I clearly remember the night when I returned home at 4 in the morning after a night shift and got a call at 6 in the morning that my Dad is no more. I immediately flew to my hometown Bhubaneswar. Being the closest to my Dad I could not gather the energy to go back to work and hence, quit the project halfway. I went back to depression. My brother and Mom supported me a lot in motivating me and my brother asked my Mom to come to Bombay with me and see me back in action. Right now when I am writing this story, I am back in my hometown and this time for my Mom who is struggling with Cancer. I have some decisions to make because my work dates coincide with her treatment dates. But this time I know that being strong is the only option and hope. I have accepted it as a fact that life is full of unpredictable incidents. All you have to do is get up and fight back when life pulls you down. Q 5 – As an artist, what is your favourite subject of illustration (model, medium or form etc) As a photographer I like to play with lights and shadows. I have a thing for the patterns you get when you see a patch of light. It’s like a beam of hope in the time of darkness. Just like in life. If you follow my Instagram handle you will see that I mostly play with this keeping light as my highlight in work. Q 6- What was the best and the worst advice you received when you started your career? The best advice I received when I started my career was, “Even if you fail, be your own version of failure.” That was honest and pure and the simplest to understand because I was a layman then and did not even know how to hold a camera. Thankfully, I haven’t received the worst one yet. Or you can say, I never took any advice as a wrong one. Because there is always something positive in everything negative. Q 7 – At this point in your career, are you happy ? At this point in my career I am not the happiest but I won’t say that I am not happy to have come this far. I am grateful to what I have. There are still a lot of things I want to learn and do. My aim is to sell my photographs worldwide. I know it will take time and patience. Also, an artist is never fully satisfied because he knows that there is always a chance and scope to do and be better. Q 8 – If someone read your story and wanted to follow your footsteps being inspired by it, what advice would you give them? My only advice would be that “Realize what you love, do it and keep repeating it.” Because, to coincide passion with profession you need to be hungry, alert and always at it!!! There is no short cut. It may take time. Sometimes a lot but it surely is going to take you where you deserve to be depending on your hard work and persuasion. And this is the one thing that gives you liberty in life. A sense of independence and confidence. Q 9 – Do you believe in dreams? I believe in dreams. Oh yes, I do. And more than that I believe in making those dreams come true. Work on your dreams. And see the magic, the beam of light being always on your side. You can follow me on Instagram – http://instagram.com/anupattnaik

My name is Chanchal Badsiwal, the owner and founder of “Chanchal“. I grew up in Delhi. I am a nature lover and a believer in Karma. I love to travel and read. I admire Art in its various forms ~ music, dance, paintings, poetry and theater. While I was in Delhi, I worked in various corporate companies. I am a seasoned expert in business research field, with several years of experience behind me. I quit my job in 2014 and moved to Bangalore with my husband. This change of location gave me some time to ponder over life and the desire of doing something more meaningful overtook. I had always dreamt of being an entrepreneur so when I had the time and opportunity, I started my venture Chanchal ~ Bringing Art to Life. Chanchal aims to revive and sustain traditional Art, Craft & Textiles of India. We work directly with weavers and artisans across the country and make contemporary Handbags & Women Clothing using Traditional Textiles such as Ikat, Ajrakh, Kalamkari etc, Dokra Jewelry and Customized Traditional Paintings. Q – Your products are made out of fabric and are Eco-friendly. What inspired you to start this line of design? I have always been inspired by our country’s wealth of tradition, culture and its Art/textiles. When I started Chanchal – I wanted to use these Art & Textiles forms which are far more sustainable as compared to today’s mass production techniques. Hand-woven Textiles are seeing a dip in its use as the markets are flooded by machine made fabrics. So I planned to make something using these gorgeous textiles. The idea of making handbags ~ first product category we introduced ~ came from my corporate life. I personally used to love experimenting with Hand-bags. However I never found anything which was intrinsically Indian and yet modern. Our hand-bags is my expression of Art using India’s Textile Heritage. Q – Did you go through a professional training for this? My designs have come out from my imagination coupled with functionality which I understand as a user. I still remember going back and forth on designs for my first collection, finding the right fabric for each design, getting the raw material, and finally shaping the whole thing up with the help of few others. Those first few samples taught me a lot. I recently did a Bag making workshop to understand the technicalities. Q – What were the hurdles you had to face when you started out. Your milestone journey? When you start with an idea all alone, you do face challenges right from scratch. I too had a hard time. Finding artisans and weavers who were willing to work for us and make small quantities of customized work was difficult. Other big hurdle is to educate people about traditional work. We recently did a huge Madhubani painting for a home décor project and we were happy to bring this beautiful age old heritage art form to someone’s living room. We have created hand bags and home décor accessories using 8 different textile forms ~ Kalamkari, Ikat, Ajrakh, Indigo, Bagru, Khana, Mysore Silk and Brocade. We have also successfully presented 2 cultural Art forms ~ Madhubani and Pattachitra ~ in contemporary fusion ways through our customised painting projects and our fusion Dokra Jewelry is loved by women of all age groups. Working with artisans and weavers gives me the opportunity to revive some of the dying art forms/textiles and create employment in the hinterlands. The satisfaction is immense! Q – Please tell us, what was the best and the worse advice you received when you started this journey? Best Advice – Whatever you do, do your best. Worst advice – Why don’t you start making imitation jewelry and bags. 😊 Q – If someone inspired by your journey wanted to follow your footsteps what would you tell them? If you believe in it and enjoy doing it then definitely go for it. Patience and Perseverance are the keywords of an entrepreneur’s life. Use your imagination and creativity to do things differently. Make sure you understand your market well. And never ever compromise on quality. Q – Do you believe in dreams? I don’t know what is the right word. I have never used the word Dreams. I call them my vision. I tell myself I want to see this or do this. And then I work to make my ideas a reality. Any further comments? Don’t give up just because people don’t understand your ideas. Email: ethnicchanchal@gmail.com Website: www.chanchal.co.in

Photography – Avinash Pasricha I’m a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer and teacher. I’ve been dancing since I was 5 years old which makes it over 25 years of dancing. I also love to experiment with cooking. If I was not a dancer, I may have been a professional chef, although at one time I wanted to deep dive and research on different shark species! I’m an optimistic and more or less happy person, and I enjoy hard work. On other fronts, I like travelling, and feel serene anywhere near an ocean, although I love the mountains too. I’m also not very good at talking about myself which is why the above paragraph is a bit random (apologies). – Please tell us about your work. I’m a Bharatanatyam dancer who is trying to break boundaries between the ancient and modern, the traditional and contemporary etc., in dance. I’ve travelled extensively all over India and the world performing as a soloist. More recently, over the last few years, I started my own dance company ‘Vyuti’ which means weave, that seeks to explore the modern within the traditional in the Bharatanatyam idiom. Vyuti was completely self-built from scratch and has now gained some amount of recognition in the dance world of Bangalore. Vyuti examines the traditional form of Bharatanatyam, usually performed solo – through a contemporary lens, and through group work. We focus on secular narratives and weave modern elements of dance into the traditional vocabulary of Bharatanatyam. As a soloist as well, I’m exploring new and undiscovered choreographic narratives such as the metaphysical poetry of Annamacharya, quite different from the love poetry one often sees in classical Indian dance. I’ve also recently choreographed a piece on love, betrayal and forgiveness on the legendary Kishori Amonkar’s famous Raag Bhoop. Apart from performing and choreographing, I also teach children and adults at my home. And I occasionally give talks, lectures, lec-dems at dance institutions and seminars on dance. I recently gave a tedX talk as well on the history of dance. This year, my work led me to perform for the Vice President of India in July, and for Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh in November for Indira Gandhi’s 100th birth anniversary. I’ve also been awarded a small token of appreciation from Chennai – the Natya Kala Mani award for my contributions to dance and I performed at the prestigious Serendipity Arts Festival as well. Vyuti also premiered its new work ‘Sakhi’ this year, a piece that focuses on the relationship between the nayika (heroine) and her sakhi (friend) – two strong female protagonists of the Indian classical dance narrative. The premiere of this performance fetched us a standing ovation in Bangalore. – Was it your dream to choose this profession? Yes! – Tell us a little about your educational background. Went to school in Delhi at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya from Nursery till the 12th standard, did my BA from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, then studied ballet and contemporary dance at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, UK. After this, I also completed my Diploma in dance from the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore. Finally, I did my masters at Oxford University, UK where the focus of my masters thesis was finding multiple modernities within Bharatanatyam. – Who/What was your inspiration? I’ve never been able to answer that question. I don’t think there is any one person or one thing that has inspired me. I get inspired by a lot of things – sometimes its people I know, sometimes its well known artists, it could be a beautiful painting, or a moving film. It could even be the sight and sound of the waves of the ocean. Honestly, inspiration can come from so many places that I wouldn’t be able to give one conclusive answer to this question. – Tell us about your milestone journey. How did it all begin? I guess when I started, choreographing was a bit of a milestone for me. It all began because I got weary of performing pieces created by other people. These other people are great artists, there’s no mistake about it, but at some point, I had that itch to create something of my own. I’d done small choreographies before, of course, but I wanted to create something solid. That’s when in 2013, Vyuti came into my mind. When I started creating the work, I cautiously chose my dancers and began teaching them about Vyuti, its sensibility and ideology, and its choreography in 2014. It took us 2 years to fully create, understand and perform Vyuti’s work for the first time in 2016. After that, its been like an avalanche. Choreography after choreography, show after show. It’s been non-stop working, networking, managing, financing (finding funds, sponsorship), PR and so much more! – Please tell us about the hurdles and challenges you faced along the way? I faced two big hurdles, both connected with one another, and both not unique to me as a choreographer – 1. Funding 2. Keeping a stable group of dancers Funding has always been a problem. Today, very few people want to fund and support dance. Finding funding was and continues to be a struggle. Lack of funding in turn leads to not being able to permanently hire dancers in the dance company. So dancers have come and gone, (although some have stayed) and each time a new dancer has come in, it has meant teaching the material again, adjusting to a new dynamic etc. – How is your work/business different from others? I don’t think it is very different actually. Dancers face the same struggles as anyone else – how to make rent every month! (Hahaha) – What was the best advice you received when you began your journey? Exploring other forms of movement is not going to dilute your Bharatanatyam training. Go and explore as much as you can. – What was the worst advice you received when you began your journey? Don’t intellectualize dance. Leave that to the intellectuals. You just dance. – How has your journey been so far? Happy! – What are your future plans with regards to work? I plan to continue to create work and choreograph and perform. I hope to take Vyuti abroad more this year. Last year, we were sent by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to Malawi, Africa as part of Republic Day celebrations there last year. I hope to take it to other countries of the world this year. As a soloist, I have performed quite extensively abroad, but Vyuti has not. – What gets you out of bed in the morning? At the moment, my puppy! No, but honestly – I don’t really need a reason to get out of bed. I’m always up to something! Cannot lie in bed all day. Not that sort of a person. Too restless. I guess its the dancer in me. – When do you work best? Whenever! – Do you believe in Dreams? Yes! – If you were to advice someone based on your career, what advice would you like to give? Just go for it. Don’t give up, despite all the odds. And don’t forget – artistic traditions aren’t dead if you breathe life into them. You needn’t reject them all (although some archaic ones must be rejected) – If you had to start all over again, how differently would you do it? I wouldn’t do it differently. Social Media Links www.vyuti.in www.aranyani.in Youtube links of Vyuti’s work – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCf2OysGOnI, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46TzviWhV0Q Instagram handle – @vyutidancecompany, @_aranyani_ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/vyutidance/ My facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/aranyanidance/

Hi! I am Vidya Kumaresan. I am 26 years old freelance graphic designer/ Lettering artist and also the founder of The Wishing ink, a small company that caters to your handmade/personalised gift needs. I am from a small town called Namakkal in Tamil Nadu. I started my career as a junior graphic designer for a private company at Coimbatore. After working there for two years, I quit my full time job as a graphic designer and started my very own small home based company called “The wishing ink”. I also conduct brush lettering workshops in Chennai and Coimbatore. – Was it always your dream to become an artist, if not how did you make the choice? I was always good at drawing ever since my school days. Drawing colourful things gave me utmost happiness. But as I grew up, I got succumbed to the academic part and gave up on all my extra-curricular activities including drawing and painting. When I joined my college to pursue B.Tech Agricultural Information Technology, I was definitely not aware that I was going to be an artist/entrepreneur in future and not an agriculture engineer. It was during my second year in college, I was introduced to a course on Multimedia. That was the very first time I got introduced to Adobe Photoshop. I kind of started liking it and wanted to learn more about it. But my dad made sure that I completed my B.Tech degree before I started anything new. So after completing my B.Tech, I joined a private Institution at Coimbatore to learn Animation and graphic designing. I started drawing and playing with colours again. After completing my diploma in graphic designing, I got immediately placed as a junior graphic designer at a cool start up firm in Coimbatore. After two years of working, I came to a point where I just didn’t want to do a normal 9 – 5 job. I wanted to do something more illustrative but I didn’t know how or what. I quit my job and decided to take a break. In this short break, I started posting my works on social media like Facebook and Instagram. One of my college senior noticed my work and gave me his first order to make a handmade greeting card for his fiancé. I made it and I got a pretty great response from all my friends. They suggested me to make this as a business. Initially I was bit skeptical but later when I started getting more orders, I realised that it’s a sign from the universe and that’s how “The wishing ink” started. – Who or what was your inspiration? I find inspiration in almost everything because we are surrounded by design everywhere. But I pinterest a lot and also use Instagram where I follow fellow artists and get inspired by them on a daily basis. To jot down a few I would say Alicia souza, Stefan Kunz, Becca Clason, Peggy dean are some of my favourite artists who inspire me. – Please tell us about your milestone journey, especially the difficulty you faced? The major difficulty that I faced was to convince my parents when I told them that I was going to quit my job. My dad initially didn’t understand what exactly I was doing. He believed that a typical 9-5 job with a fancy salary was more secure. But it took me some time to explain everything and make him understand. Once I started getting more and more orders for customised gifts and offers to conduct workshops on lettering, he finally gave in. Now I am happy to say that he completely supports me and in fact is very proud of whatever I am doing. Also the other difficulty that I faced with my business was that I wasn’t able to find the right packaging materials and other art supplies because most of them were only available from global markets outside India. So, it took me some time to find the right products that were sourced within India and I should say that my clients were quite understanding when it came to the initial few days when the packaging wasn’t finalised and few orders were received broken owing to courier mishandling. – As an artist, what is your favourite subject of illustration (model, medium or form) As an artist, my favourite medium would always be watercolours. I tend to mix and match my lettering style along with colourful splashes of watercolour in most of my works. The best thing about watercolours is their transparency and it’s fun to be able to layer different colours at ease. When it comes to digital, I like illustrating with Adobe Illustrator. I love vector over raster. I use a very basic Wacom one tablet for most of my digital illustrations. – What was the best and the worst advice you received when you started your career? The best advice that I have received so far would be “You can either be a warrior and fight for your dreams or stay coward and regret over it for the rest of your life”. This advice is something that I always remember when I face my hard times. The worst advice that I received was “Business is not your cup of tea, give up. Go get a job” Thankfully I never took up that advice but it gave me the push that I needed to prove it wrong. – At this point in your career, are you happy? Yes I am happy. I am also grateful for everything that happened be it good or bad. I definitely have so much to learn and give back to this amazing artist community. I believe the best is yet to come! – If someone read your story and wanted to follow your footsteps being inspired by it, what advice would you give them? My advice would be that “Never give up on your dreams”. It might feel like it is impossible to achieve them or your external factors might be a great barrier but it’s up to you to break down those stereotypical walls/ barriers and hold on to your dreams and work towards it. Nothing ever came easy. It is definitely going to be a rough journey but make sure the destination is going to be worth all the struggles. – Do you believe in dreams? Oh yes, I do. I believe in dreams. I work towards making those dreams come true. I believe it’s the ultimate purpose of life. So Dream without fear. To follow my work – Facebook Page Instagram Page To Shop – The wishing Ink

Nikitha Satish – Founder, DORI I am a designer based in Bangalore. I make clothes! Have been a designer for about 7 years now. I have a clothing line called DORI. I work with Indian textile and artisans from North Karnataka and make contemporary clothes for women. Please tell us about your work Dori was started with an idea of exploring Indian textiles and making contemporary clothes. I wanted to start from my roots. I was born in Dharwad but haven’t really lived there. I wanted to explore that region and thus started working with Ilkal and Kasuti. Ilkal has been a staple weave of people in North Karnataka and Kasuti is this beautiful intricate embroidery which hasn’t been on the map at all. After I began going to Ammengad to meet the weavers I realised that depth of the work they do and how much we are unaware of it. For Kasuti embroidery I work with the lovely folks at an NGO called KaiKrafts. They give employment to the women in Dharwad and help them become financially independent. Was it your dream to choose this profession? Yes Tell us a little about your educational background. Right after 10th grade, I did a 3 year diploma in Fashion and later a degree in Fashion design from Bangalore University. Who or what was your inspiration? I don’t have one particular inspiration as such. I think its all around us. Whether its nature, a place or a person. Much of my inspiration comes from history. I find them very fascinating and there is an underplay of nostalgia in my designs. Tell us about your milestone journey. How did it all begin? It all began with a spark to do something on my own. I guess it was always there but I never took myself seriously as an entrepreneur. I still don’t. I am just a designer and I love to make clothes. I love the process! When I first took a trip to Ameengad to meet the weavers is when I realized that there is much more to it. I found my purpose. My purpose in exploring Indian textiles and trying to project it in a different light. That the Artisans are the makers who need to be shown to the world. they should be appreciated and recognized for the work they do. Please tell us about the hurdles and challenges you faced along the way. Constantly finding inspiration and pulling yourself up can be a huge challenge. Balancing the design life and the business part of it has been a huge hurdle for me which i still hesitate to cross. I am trying to work on it so that I can give back in a better way. How is your work/business different from others? Its not a business for me. Its a way of life. I am trying to imbibe the sustainability and consciousness into my life too. What was the best advice you received when you began your journey? That I should just follow my heart. I have been blessed with the most amazing parents who have always told me to do what I like and encouraged me though they had no idea what I was doing! What was the worst advice you received when you began your journey? That I should get a ‘proper degree’. How has your journey been so far? Challenging What are your future plans with regards to work? Explore our culture in terms of art. Travel with the brand and explore different cities and introduce ours to them. What gets you out of bed in the morning? My to-do list! What is your favourite quote? “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.” – Dumbledore When do you work best? Mornings Do you believe in Dreams? Yes If you were to advice someone based on your career, what advice would you like to give? People find their passion but keeping at it and giving it your all is the only way to grow. Lukewarm passion is no good. If you had to start all over again, how differently would you do it? If I had to start all over again, I would want to work harder and be more confident in my work. Social media links https://www.doridesigns.in/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/doridesignhouse/ Instagram handle – https://www.instagram.com/dori_designs/ Nikitha’s blog – http://thewovendream.blogspot.in/

“Growing up I was constantly told to be like someone, to become like someone. But that’s the problem, I don’t want to be someone else, I have never wanted to be anyone else but me. Carve my own path, irrespective of whether the path was already walked on or was the one less chosen. It doesn’t make me rebellious but sure made me ambitious. Growing up I knew one thing, I wanted see this world and that I wanted to share my life with someone who wants to see the world with equal hunger. But more importantly, I wanted to be informed, academic or artistic, I wanted to know it all. I strongly believe in this quote by Richard Branson – ” if someone hands you an opportunity and you don’t know how to do it, say yes and then learn.” So I went with the flow, accepted whatever came my way, and if it wasn’t feeding my hunger, I moved on from it. After my schooling I enrolled to study Journalism but in the second semester was offered a full scholarship from a reputed dance company. So by the time I was 17, I was enrolled in two completely different institutions for two completely opposite learning. I feel so blessed working at the dance company because I got travel a little nugget of the world. And everyone who travels knows, once you are bitten by the bug, there is no going back. By 21, I graduated both institutes and wanted to do more, so while working for a marketing team at a company I started getting my diploma in photography, and once I got my degree, I quit my job. A friend recommended me to a travel company and I travelled with them for 3 months in Maharashtra to places I had never been and met some really special souls. That journey changed my life in ways I wasn’t aware at the time. However, i realised there are photographers dime a dozen. I needed more, so I went on to get my masters abroad with a partial scholarship. And I travelled. Wherever I could, whenever I could, on whatever budget I could. I have lived for weeks on just bread, bananas and water, just so I could travel. I travelled alone, I travelled with friends but I couldn’t not do it. Eventually when my masters ended, I hosted two exhibitions with fellow graduates in London and Leicester. Who would have thought !? After i came back, I was depressed, because while I was satiating my hunger for knowledge and experiences, I had forgotten about the basic concept of earning for bread and butter. So I had to start from scratch and struggle again. My first 8 months or so was absolutely disheartening but I didnt stop trying. I couldn’t. And then, I applied to this online competition, and I never thought I’d even make it to selective pool or artists. But I did. One of my pictures went up on a digital exhibition in the bloody Louvre. By 25, I had exhibited in London in person, and Digitally in Louvre. I was half in mind to retire and be like life can’t offer you more than this. And then the hungry beast woke up. I realised I have to keep doing this. Keep trying to be better to be may be aim for more world galleries and museums. To see parts of the world I only read about. To make a difference and to give back in whatever little capacity I can to the universe. So I think a simple thought is never say no to life, and do whatever you want to with absolute abandon. Now at 26, I still only dream to travel the world. And if I am lucky enough to do it even once, before I die, I’ll do my favourite places again and again, till I do”.

I am Vidya, a perpetual daydreamer from Bangalore, India. I enjoy dabbling with art, photography and writing apart from my daily dose of graphic design work and hankering after my cats. I have been drawing (at least somewhat recognizable forms!) from the age of 2 and have been keen on exploring various artistic visualizations from my early childhood, starting with hand-painted painted cards to book illustrations to logos and brand identity design. I enjoy exploring alternative ways of visualizing ideas, like performance art and installation art in public spaces that can form exciting interfaces for communication. Pursuing a career that has the possibility of entwining creativity and commerce seems to be like a beautiful struggle-a balancing act between managing resources, networks, timelines, finances, and other uncertainties coming with it, apart from keeping aside time to learn much further. But in many cases, as goes the cliché, it all seems to be a matter of time for things to settle in. I have been fortunate to have received encouragement and guidance from various mentors in school, college and otherwise, and to complete my formal studies in Fine Arts and Communication Design. I am grateful to have always had art, music, books and photography a part of my daily household because of my parents. In fact, no matter how many times I look at it, I find it rather heart-warming to see my first drawing carefully and lovingly preserved by my parents for about 24 years now! It was also wonderful spending time with books from an early age and discover Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Rand, who have remained inspirations from school times. It has been immensely helpful for my art practice to be getting introduced to creative folks from various ages, places and cultural backgrounds and learn about what inspires their craft. It has also taken time for me to value the importance of travel breaks in between work, so as to be getting back with fresh ideas and new perspectives, and the fact that surrounding yourself with the right kind of people can spread an aura of infectious energy, strengthens you to create soulful artwork, and gives that distinct feeling of satisfaction. We are also in a very exciting phase of learning from interesting creative folks on many ubiquitous online platforms, apart from an excellent interface to showcase one’s own portfolio of projects and interests; this has personally given me chances to exhibit my art at various places from the heart of Bangalore to Romania. I would want to use art to for awareness and education to give back to the society, and I am keen on more travel breaks this year to see for myself the fluidity in design language and intangible heritage that other places have to offer. With the advent in technology, it excites me to see what the coming years hold for art and design. It is also overwhelming to see a teeming number of tremendously talented artists, writers, photographers and others in various creative pursuits, a feeling that can inspire as well as challenge. On a more personal front, art has been of remarkable therapeutic benefit during many rough phases of my life as well. With this, I do believe in dreams and in chasing them while not dreaming! I hope that we all can adapt our daily lives to make little time frequently for the things we love to do, it could be anything from reading books to trying out new recipes to poetry and art, and experience the difference that such small acts can bring into our day. Website: www.vidyakamalesh.com Facebook: @VidyaKamalesh, https://www.facebook.com/Vidya-Kamalesh-822628394477476/ Instagram: @vidyakamalesh Twitter: @VidyaKamalesh Behance Portfolio: https://www.behance.net/VidyaKamalesh

Swathi Kirthyvasan – UX Designer, Illustrator and Content Writer I am Swathi, a UX Designer, Illustrator and Content Writer. I work out of a design studio in Hyderabad where I design apps, websites and applications along with creative graphics and illustrations. Apart from my professional work, I am also an independent artist with love for experimenting and exploring new mediums, styles and techniques. I tend to keep learning and trying new things any time I get the chance to and I enjoy doing it. It’s my love for what I do that keeps me going every single day. Please tell us about your work My work is kind of versatile. Since I don’t stick to one form be it lettering or doodling, it’s interesting for me to keep trying new styles. My style of work can range from intricate and detailed to minimal and abstract and simple. I enjoy working with lettering, doodle art and mandalas, watercolors, gouache and paper quilling. I can’t stick to one style, rather I prefer to dabble with mediums and ways of doing things. I feel that’s what keeps my work exciting and different from the usual. I enjoy experimenting and trying out new things all the time. My doodles and mandalas can start out real simple, but can get super intricate and detailed as I work through it. When it comes to lettering, I am not looking at perfection, i look for the rustic quality that comes out of it. When I work with watercolors, I love to work with different colors and just watch the magic happen when the colors hit the water. I prefer to keep my compositions simple and minimal which I absolutely love. As for working with paper, one tends to require a lot of patience to work with the medium. I work on small compositions and letters and love the effect that paper gives to the final outcome. I jump between mediums and style which is what keeps things exciting and fun for me. I am also currently learning calligraphy and look to trying something interesting with it. Was it your dream to choose this profession? Yes Tell us a little about your Educational Background. Haha, well, I am Computer Science graduate along with a diploma in design. I was almost thrown into the pool of joining a big MNC but gave that up to follow my dream of getting into design and arts. I did a course in visual communication to understand everything about design. The art side of things came naturally, with me just picking up a pen and drawing random things in the beginning. Who/What was your inspiration? I am inspired by many of the talented creatives on Instagram and Pinterest who push themselves to explore and learn new things. My biggest inspiration (and motivator) is my mother who herself is a wonderful watercolor artist. Tell us about your milestone journey. How did it all begin? It wasn’t a real fun journey let me tell you. I was always into doing creative stuff ever since I was a kid. I enjoyed art and creative classes in school and could see myself doing something creative in the future. But school, studies and competition came in between and I couldn’t focus much on art and design. It resurfaced once again in college where I started picking up the fundamentals of Photoshop, the first software I learnt. I would make small logos and designs to keep myself happy. But life happened, exams and placements came. I rejected an offer from an MNC to take up design school. That’s where the creative journey began. I started picking up new concepts and ideas, started opening up to the idea of being a designer and embraced the learning completely. Along with learning design, I started doodling, painting and drawing again, and that has laid foundation to where I am today. I am so happy I stood my ground to pursue a creative career and I am really excited to see where things go and how things will be shaping up in the future. Please tell us about the hurdles and challenges you faced along the way? Oh there was plenty. The first, the great Indian rat race for scoring marks in school. I was a studious kid, so that was not a problem. I was forced to take up science in my Grade 11 and 12 and also engineering classes and coaching but never found the interest in them (never took them though). Eventually I settled for graduating with a computer applications degree. I was counseled multiple times to take up a corporate job. People around me were frustrated about me and never really gave me motivation to pursue design as a career. I was warned I wouldn’t get jobs, I would be on the streets. I was never encouraged by my family (Except my mother) to try out design as a career. Everyone gave their piece of advice as usual. I had my bouts of depression and anxiety where I thought was making wrong decisions. But turns out they were all good. And look where I am today. I have an amazing job, amazing friends around me who motivate me to try stuff and a hobby which I absolutely enjoy doing. What is your favourite mode of illustration? (medium, model or form etc.,) I don't have a specific favorite mode of illustration. As I have mentioned I enjoy working with all modes; be it paper, pens, watercolors or just sketching. I love experimenting with each of them individually as well mixing them up. You never know the results you might get. I love the details I can get with pens and pencils, the beautiful flow of colors in watercolors and the patience and time needed for working with paper. How is your work/business different from the others? I guess what sets me apart or makes me different from others is my love for experimenting. And also the seamless transitions that I make while working; from watercolors, I can easily jump to creating a mandala, and then later work on something else. I don’t want to ever stick to a particular medium. I enjoy dabbling with every medium, style and technique and that gives me sheer happiness. What was the best advice you received when you began your journey? This is constant advice I have gotten from my teachers in design school and from my creative head at work: “Everyone is going to judge you, tell you what to do, how to do, criticize what you do and try pulling you down. What matters is how well you stand up and rise to the occasion from all the negativity around you”. Another piece of advice I have received is, “Never say there is no time. There is always time to do work, to try new things and to make new dreams. Never give up. ”What was the worst advice you received when you began your journey? Design and art are not worthy as careers. You are not capable of doing this so give it up. How has your journey been so far? HappyWhat are your future plans with regards to work? Currently I am on why way to releasing a new product at work. On the artist front I am planning on getting into workshops and teaching since I have gotten multiple requests for doing so. The ultimate future plan for me is to have my own studio. Being my own boss is the ultimate goal. What gets you out of bed in the morning? The motivation to do more, the happiness I get from what I do everyday. Every day is a new day to start fresh What is your morning/night ritual? Every morning and night I make it a point to drink a glass of water with honey and lemon. In the mornings, I play badminton for about/over an hour as exercise and a stress buster. Playing makes me feel super active throughout the day and keeps me fit and healthy. If I don’t play, I make it a point to take a walk or run, or do a quick set of exercise to keep me pumped. What is your favourite quote? You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream – CS Lewis When do you work best? Whenever I can Do you believe in Dreams? Yes http://www.swathikirthyvasan.com/ If you were to advice someone based on your career, what advice would you like to give? Don’t give up. Just keep doing whatever you are doing and you will get there eventually. You will make mistakes over and over again but that will be the way you will keep learning. Share your mistakes and triumphs with the people you care; they are your best well wishers. Don’t worry if someone does a better job than you, or has more followers and attention than you. Never compare yourself to someone else’s work. Everyone has worked hard to get where they are and eventually you will get there too. Don’t lose heart. https://www.instagram.com/swathik26 If you had to start all over again, how differently would you do it? I frankly don’t have regrets over how my journey started. It may have begun a little later than a lot of people, but I am quite happy I have faced so many challenges and hurdles to come through strong and face challenges with a purpose. My only wish comes the way of I have mentioned here, I just wish someone would have advised me sooner on a career in design and given me better guidance and mentoring. https://www.facebook.com/swathikdesigns/

Hello my name is Ruchi Patel. I am the owner of Ruhh Studio. Ruhh studio is based on earthy and handcrafted accessories. Honestly, I am not an art student but as stroke of luck would have it now acclaim myself to be a born artist. Ever since known I would recycle and make things out of waste products for myself which with an innovative and unique touch to it. It all took a turning point when I got pregnant. I was advised bed rest which became unbearable for me. Therefore, I started making things out of the fabric waste, mainly wood and other various materials. As a stroke of luck, I thought of bringing RUHH STUDIO to life before my baby was born. That is how I started making products like bangles, neck pieces, earrings, etc. out of the fabric. All I needed was a Facebook page and uploaded these products. To my surprise people started liking my work and I started getting orders. I was 8th months pregnant that time. It was perfect like meditation for me to be aware and peaceful. By the time I delivered I had two babies to cater to, one being my daughter and the other “Ruhh Studio”. Each Product is a labour of love, conceived in moments of creative fervour and nurtured to perfection. What started off as a hobby has now translated into a vision of crafting new possibilities. Our environment is our inspiration and it is to that we ultimately pay tribute to. Eco friendly is the style we endorse and this is reflected in our choice of fabrics, patterns and colours. Each thread speaks about the story of where it came from, where it has been and which part of culture, art and life it has experienced which gives birth to an accessory that will stimulate memories from your past. I conclude my work as an Ode to women who don’t follow trends, but make one!

ART BY AAROHI Q 1- Please introduce yourself, your work etc. I am a creator. I am an artist. A mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a lover… A lot of things but then so is everyone 🙂 In my life I have always tried to embrace every role with equal fervor and honesty. As a creator I try and imbibe everything around me. We each play many roles to many people. Embrace them all. Your interactions with people, places and things define you. They all have a role to play in your work. Q 2 – Was it always your dream to become an artist, if not how did you made the choice? (educational background etc) By education I hold a Master’s degree in History, by profession I was an information architect and UX/UI designer for the longest time. But my passion and today my vocation/my job are that of an artist. A creator. Q 3 – who or what was your inspiration? Nakul Sinha. He was my art teacher in school. He is the single most important reason that I became an artist. He believed in me. I was very saddened to learn that he passed away a few years ago alone in Shanti Niketan. He never married and his last years were lonely. He once told me, that I should never give a painting or any of my work for free. So even today I charge one rupee for any work that I give away even as a gift. Somewhere along the way, in the innocence of youth, I just believed that he would live forever. After passing out of school I looked for him even asked about his whereabouts… I guess I did not try hard enough. I wish I had. My greatest regret in life is that I never told him what he meant to me. I think he would have been happy for me.But as inspiration goes? Everything really. My life and the people and places I see around me. I think my effort to paint is a way to understand those around me better and the ArtByAarohi Label line is to challenge myself to see how many boundaries I can push. The Poonchh Collection is my way of paying it forward… Q 4 – Please tell us about your milestone journey, especially the difficulty you faced? I read somewhere that ‘ do what you think of constantly’. And I realize every day for the last so many years, for definitely all of my adult years it has been my driving force without really realizing it. But it is hard to juggle all that I do apart from my creative life. My responsibilities of being a wife, daughter and parent. I don’t regret any of those decisions. They were mine and made with love.I don’t want to give them up… but an artist’s life is painful. It is in some sense solitary. Solitary in pockets where you can find the angels that save you and make friends with the demons that torment you. To be true to what I produce as marks on canvas, I need to touch those as yet untouched or not frequently touched places in the dark recesses of my mind.My advice to me to get through was to work. To work with whatever resources I had at my disposal in terms of time and material. I created paper mache bowls. I painted flat almost graphic shapes on kettles. I painted chairs. I drew inspiration from all that was going on in my life and slowly driving me insane. I transferred that insanity to my work. On days there were no conversations with anyone except the gurgling of a happy child. I painted political statements on kettles, my joy in watching a good movie, my heritage, my leanings and my learnings. The best way I could. And then as time went by I outgrew that medium. I needed to go deeper into myself and to evolve my craft again to a skill level that time would now allow with the kids growing up…Recently I found some old work (about 20 years or so old) and realized that I gave up too soon on that piece. I let the canvas defeat me at about 20% of the work/effort stage. Had I just worked through it, I would have had a master piece. That is my learning, that I apply to everything sub consciously. Don’t give up. Work through it. Fight with it. Till you know you can’t anymore. Paint till you muddy the colours and then give up. But only for a bit. And come back to it. If the colours don’t sing in water colour then use some other medium on it. Use acrylics, pastels. But work it. I think I try and apply the same to my relationships today. I just have not yet learnt when to take the chota break :-)Which brings me to the next point. I had let people govern my time and life. I will do all I can to help. Sometimes I found I was withdrawing my emotional reserves to help another without first replenishing my own stock. Some thing akin to constantly living on over drafts from my emotional bank. And that hurt. It hurt my family, my friends, me and my work. My core.I needed to take stock. To re-stock. Now I try to say ‘no’ when I can’t do something. I am trying to stay focused on me. I paint/ create something every day. Bake a cake, doodle, sew, paint or just cook something with a creative flair….I allow myself time with the few people who nourish my mind and my heart. I allow myself to be a bit of a recluse when I don’t want to interact with anyone.I have never painted for money. I paint for love. Always. Love of my craft. My feelings. My subjects.  With honesty and passion. To myself. Not for gain. The gain will come. It is a byproduct of doing your work well. Every day is one where I try to push the boundaries just a little further. I wrote for about a year or so – on and off. As honestly as I could and then I started to paint eyes. I find if I approach the subject from within and not worry about what anyone else would say. I always transfer what I feel on to the canvas. The eyes become windows to my soul.Poonchh was my way to give back. But it had a different need to fulfill. It had to be commercial and that allowed me to see how far I could take a thought/ metaphor. But when I paint the dogs I truly give of myself. I wanted to push the boundaries of narratives here. The series on Rakesh’s portraits was just that. So many asked – Who will buy them? Will you sell them? Are you just going to give them away? None of that was ever the point of the exercise. The point was to communicate feelings. Raw feelings. And the success in that work lies in the man feeling them when he sees the finished work not in money, fame or exhibition.It is about connections. Every piece I paint, make, create, restore is about connections to memory and feeling. It is hard and you can have it all. But you have to want it bad enough. Do you? Q 5 – As an artist, what is your favourite subject of illustration (model, medium or form etc)I tend to gravitate towards faces. Be they people or animals. The eyes are something I am drawn to. I think I am trying to reach into my subjects soul and connect with it. To see if I can depict ‘them’ and not just an outward manifestation of what they show or choose to show. Q 6- What was the best and the worst advice you received when you started your career?The best advice though I did not know it then was – ‘Gain life experience. It will make you a better artist/creator.’And the worst was ‘Practice in isolation and don’t show your work to anyone till you are absolutely excellent.’ Q 7 – At this point in your career, are you happy ?I am happy as a person. I am fulfilled in life. In isolation for what I do as an artist and what it gives me – absolutely yes. I am happy. But sometimes the rules of surviving in the world do not allow for the integrity I aspire to. And that brings about conflict in my mind. I don’t like ‘playing the game’ and I don’t. Q 8 – If someone read your story and wanted to follow your footsteps being inspired by it, what advice would you give them? In a nutshell… Know your goal Time management and discipline Avoid procrastination Keep away from distractions Break it down into smaller chunks Do your home work Closure Allow for happy accidents Have cheers leaders Embrace all roles in your life Stay away from mediocrity Diversify like workouts And last – Apni aukaat pata honi chayiye – And last but not the least, be ruthless in your critique of your self. Listen to what your gut tells you about your own work and your own place in the world. Don’t show the work to anyone if you don’t want to but finish it and then look at it. Honestly. Put the finished piece away for a while, get a little distance and then look at it again. Know your place in the grand scheme of things. Always. Aspire to grow but with a realistic image. Don’t let enthusiasm exceed ability… Q 9 – Do you believe in dreams? Absolutely. I believe in the possibilities. I remember reading somewhere that if you don’t aspire to something then you will be nothing. And that if you don’t ask for what you want/ what you dream of then the answer will always be ‘no’. Website – https://www.artbyaarohi.com/ facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ArtbyAarohi/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/studio.artbyaarohi/ Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/c/artbyaarohi