The only thing constant in life is change!
The big white wall was supporting many ideas and images. A small plant was on the table beside the wall with some leaves falling but also a new bud rising. The table was covered with a mess of sheets trying to create a balance. The most colourful stand of pens was empty, and the pens were all over the table, a few lying on the ground forgotten. Old paintings were still hanging on the wall and displaying the passage of time, one idea after another. The weather was changing a subtle warmth could be felt. A young female invisible among the folk was attempting visibility. Little did she realise that not just the weather was changing… the world was… life was about to change… Just like this with no knowledge the folk was about to face difficulties unknown…
The street is full of people, the hand-pulled rickshaws are moving everywhere, vendors are shouting the rates of garlands, beautiful colourful garlands, she can smell the deliciousness coming from the sweet shops around her. The street is chaotic, but it smells and feels familiar. She is new to this city of Mathura, India, the city of Lord Krishna. Always fascinated by the historic and mythological stories this city is giving her a sense of comfort. The centre of the art of ancient, ‘the folk’, has mystified her. She is awed by the beauty of nature, the splash of colours and the fragrance of home around her.
Out of the curiosity within her, she visits the famous temple of Lord Krishna and during her visit, she sees a very vivid piece of art. She was awed but passes by the art quickly due to the growing crowd. Time goes by and sunset is nearby. She forgets about art and goes to visit the local traditional art shops. The crowd is always constant, the art market is colourful, small idols of Lord Krishna, his disciples, cows, etc., hand-painted artworks on cloth bags, sandals, bedsheets, clothes and so on. She is deciding among two beautiful handbags when her eyes fall on a similar vivid art again. She leaves the bags, the vendor is calling her, but she is mesmerised and is walking towards that art. She enters the shop and is looking in awe at that finely detailed piece of paper, with small detailed cuts, and displaying a small scene from the life of Lord Krishna. Curiously she asks the old shopkeeper, “Tauji yeh Kaun si Kala hai?” (Respected elder what is this form of art?). The shopkeeper at first is stunned seeing someone taking interest in that piece of art, then gives a small smile to her. Affectionately the shopkeeper learns her interest in that art but does not reveal the form of this art. Towards the end, the kind man says, “Beta yeh prachin logon ki kala h, isse Sanjhi kala kaha jaata h…” (Child this is an ancient art of the folk, it is known as the Art of Sanjhi…”). She purchased a smaller version of that art and left the shop.
Time passed by and that girl was now a young confident female. Far away from the small city in India, she was in the United Kingdom. She was persuading her degree in Fine Art and having the most amazing time of her life. She was still inspired by the historic and mythological stories, the ancient art of the folk still put her in awe. She is deriving her inspiration daily from the ancient art of the folk and it is visible in her artworks. There is a studio that intrigues her, the paper studio, she is attracted to it. The feel of paper in her hands, the coarse touch of dry paper and the soft moist feel during its making was attracting her. She was developing a relationship with paper; she was realizing that paper wasn’t just a base for art but was something that could develop art stand alone.
She was researching another art of the folk for inspiration when she came across her pictures as a young girl. She started going through the old pictures, her memories were getting refreshed. Suddenly she came across the image of old purchased artwork, it was the same old folk art that she purchased years ago. She again was mesmerised by that piece of work and found her source of inspiration. The ancient folk art of Sanjhi became her point of inspiration. She realised how art was based on paper and its evolution. She got intrigued and started developing her artwork using the concepts of paper building. It was all going brilliantly, she shifted her art from the previous semester to another wall and started working on her new idea. The white wall was blank again and now it’s waiting for new ideas.
She entered the paper studio with new hope, the sketches were ready, the planning was there now was the need to build the paper. She entered the studio in the bright morning sunlight and left with a smile of satisfaction in the warm evening light. The wait was long, checking the paper daily for a week. But the result was satisfying, she was happy, ideas were becoming outputs, the big white wall was supporting…
The world was attacked but a virus, folks were panicking, the world was debating. Families were worried and so was hers. She had to leave, her small little world in the UK, her art studio, her small apartment, her artwork and even a small amount of hope was left behind. She was back in India but out of hope, anxious, stressed… it is increasing day by day. The stress is eating her up… she is getting depressed… she attempts to find solace in mythologies and historical stories again. The Bhagwat Gita acts as her guide, she moves towards art again, she smiles after a month of sadness.
Resources are unavailable, there is no material, but she has her hope now. The journey to creation begins, everything present in the house becomes a part of her journey. Her reading of Gita inspires her, the war of Mahabharata and the war with the virus seems similar. The output is unknown to her, but the hopes are high. It is her time to rise again using her inspiration from the ancient folk art of Sanjhi and the ancient folk tale of Mahabharat.
