She completed her Masters in Fine Arts at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in 1992.The French Government sponsored her for a scholarship to study in Paris in 1993.A recipient of the National scholarship for young emerging artists (1991-93) from the Govt of India, I also received The Junior Fellowship (1995-97) I have held solo shows in Delhi ,Mumbai and Chennai in the past ten years.Meanwhile she has been invited to lecture at the National College of Art, Lahore and Indus Art College, Karachi. She has also worked on an exciting project as Creative Director on Gita-Govinda It was a multi-media joint project of Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts under Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, in which Xerox Palo Alto gave technical input . This path breaking exhibition which explores the fusion of culture and technology, continues to travel to leading institutions of the world.A Ramachandran, one of the leading contemporary masters, is her guru and greatest inspiration.The features from ancient miniatures , wall paintings ,folk and popular arts of Indian and other civilisations have helped her look at my own imagery with a contemporary freshness. Her current expression is reflective of a global citizen at home with ancient Indian architecture so visible by it’s presence in her city Delhi , reminiscent of kings ,palaces and courts standing tall alongside and amidst urban Indian city life. In her painted pictures , modern gadgets such as mobile phones, wires, heart beat screen savers, ultra sound images ,all symbolizing connectivity in todays context occupy the same visual space as symbolic elements of Indian miniatures such as rain. ,blossoming lotuses, swaying trees and empty balconies. They evoke simailar emotions and it is this contrasting imagery that she explores to marry in the current works. In Fact in some of the earlier kitch works, Hollywood icons such as James Bond and Elvis have been seen as denizens of this architectural space in some of her works alongsides celestial constellations and flying migratory birds.A painting for her is the ambrosia for the mind. The act of painting is a 360 degree exercise for her which allows meditative time , a structured discipline and immense personal gratification. She delight in the viewer's interpretation, for she does not myself weave any message in her works. Be it insects, galaxies, pop icons or ancient Indian murals, they all have a place on her canvas. The elements she choose take a life of their own from one painting to the next because she leaves them unfettered of any intellectual shackles. A glowing moon can morph into an insect egg just as strands of strings evolve into worms.
