Although women find a place in almost all of my works, it is nature that plays a very important role in this series, and in my art. I am from Shillong, Meghalaya, and a lot of my work is what I see around me. Here, women and children never seize to amaze me. Their agility to take lofty steps while climbing cliffs and walking long distances with 10-15kg on their back every day – and to do it all with smiles and giggles – is just remarkable.
It was after I travelled through my home state of Meghalaya that I started my charcoal and tea-stained series. I was so inspired, and the only medium that could do justice to how I felt was charcoal. It is humbling to move from my acrylics and watercolours to this new medium, and experiment with more organic pigments and stains. Choosing charcoal just made everything fall into place. These artworks are a personal rendition of how I felt in nature. The textures, the sounds, the atmosphere around me, and most importantly, how I felt physically and emotionally in that environment were the main sources of my inspiration.
I visited places that made me completely change the way I see nature. I saw flat rocks and river stones placed along small paths that only a few people have walked along. They formed magical patterns that held my attention. Sometimes I felt like I was on the sets of Avatar. I would get goosebumps every time I stepped inside the sacred groves – they were welcoming, yet their sanctity made me feel like every step should be taken with respect. Their vastness made me feel very little.
The first time I visited, I was overwhelmed, and when I came out I could physically feel a force slowly pulling me back, as if to tell me that there was more that I needed to see and feel. The groves are as old as Mother Earth herself, and are home to a rich variety of flora and fauna. It was a beautiful experience to venture within.
The living root bridges too, are proof that people in these parts allow nature to show them that one can live in harmony with her. It takes hundreds of years for these structures to take shape and become a source of connection between people in these remote places and the rest of the world. It just shows how man and nature can work in tandem. It is amazing to see the natural weaving of these roots as they grow, sometimes, of course, with man lending his fingers to bend and guide the tender overgrowths. In time, these become structures so strong they can withstand the harshest monsoons.
These root structures will stay with me forever. The feeling I got when I leaned against or grasped these roots; the textures of the rocks covered with mosses and lichens; the aroma of the air around me; the sounds of insects and birds, and the occasional villager calling out to another; the dry leaves beneath my feet: these found their place in my canvas, consciously or unconsciously.
