Colours and I had a special relationship ever since I was a kid. I remember looking up at the rainbow and being awed by its beauty. I also remember looking at everything around me with a curiosity only a kid has but somehow with years, life took a turn and I forgot about my awe. I saw things but somehow forgot looking at them. Until I was in the 4th standard, our school organised a trip to a zoo nearby my hometown. There I became fascinated with the greenery around me and when I returned home the only thing in my mind was to recreate that exact same beauty. The only way to recreate it was to draw it. So I picked up a blank paper and my colours and only stopped when I had painted. That wasn’t my best painting but still I cherish it as it was a start to a life changing journey.

My elder sister started teaching me at home and the more I drew the happier I felt. I felt a sense of satisfaction and deep gratification every time I drew or painted something. I felt peaceful after depicting the various colours around me. Painting, sketching and drawing became my constant friend ever since. After seeing my interest in drawing my parents sent me to a teacher. Although it was supposed to be a class, I felt like it was a second home for me. Our teacher was a young woman, the age of my sister. We used to call her didi. She taught me the different techniques and effects one could incorporate in their drawing. That class opened the door to a whole different world for me. Drawing and painting became my own personal solace from everything that happened in m life.

My sadness, anger, happiness and despair could all be seen through my drawing. I felt grateful to have found my way back to the colours I had forgotten about. Those few years as astudent changed my outlook regarding life as well as painting. I realised it was a wonderful gift that not many people had. I could conjure up worlds and universes through my imagination. My paintings began to become an integral part of my teenage life. I even participated in various competitions and exhibitions and I was fortunate enough to have sold some of my paintings in Ranchi as well as Kolkata through the education I was getting at the Ranchi Kala Kendra.

I will forever be grateful to didi for teaching me the intricacies of painting, my elder sister who was my first teacher. My parents who supported this dream and that day my school decided to take us for that expedition. The entire journey has shaped my present as well as future. My paintings are a mirror to my personality and inner dilemmas of my life. My colours are my weapon of choice to fight the battle against my inner demons as well as any curveballs life throws at me. I would end by quoting a great painter, Thomas Merton who said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”. This depicts my love for painting very accurately.