Redeemed by Art

Self taught artist Mira Krishnan describes her upbringing to be similar to that of a gypsy’s, “I grew up exploring different parts of India. Since my dad was a chemical engineer, we travelled a lot, based on where the factories were located,” says Krishnan. She goes on to relate her artistic experiences and how she chanced upon sacred geometry. “While I was teaching at NIFT in Baroda, I would often find myself doodling geometrical patterns. At the time I had no idea what it meant,” says Krishnan, as she points out hexagons, polygons and plane figures in her work.

Ancient origins, philosophers, and scientists speak of the creation of the cosmos resulting from sacred geometry. 

The transient beauty of mandalas, a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism, which represents our universe, is often used as a teaching tool. “In the most basic form you will observe a square with four gates containing a circle with a centre point, which is your focal point during meditation,” says Krishnan, as she points out multi coloured hues of red, blue and purple merging together between a square with four gates, exhibiting radial balance. “Repeating each motif is like a mantra that has me captivated in a meditative trance-like state,” continues Krishnan, as she shows me a mandala inspired by the magical world of Harry Potter, containing 100 to 150 shades of colour.

Seeking Happiness
Krishnan, once an atheist, remembers standing outside a temple, while her family had stepped inside. “I was the black sheep of the family. I made a mural saying this is my god and I do not like idol worship,” grins Krishnan, who eventually became a devotee of Lord Shiva.

Later in life, Krishnan experienced intense emotional turmoil, as her long distance relationship shattered and she was rejected from nothing short of 90 job interviews. “It was the darkest phase of my life,” states Krishnan. She slowly cut herself off from the world and found consolation in endless hours of sketching and drawing.

New Beginnings
After 10 years of hiding her art work under her bed, Krishnan’s life slowly began changing from 2012, when she had her first mandala workshop, began exhibiting her artwork across the nation, and sold around 18 pieces during her second exhibition in Bandra. Design company Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla hired her. Krishnan’s complete focus was on art exploring holistic healing and an environmentally conscious medium. “Mandalas are an art form that help to express something, which is suppressed within oneself. It helped me to re-focus my mind and get away from the daily chatter,” says Krishnan smiling.

Krishnan’s spiritual side grew deeper as her life spiralled back into control, “Yoga, reiki and meditation sessions with my guruma is what helped me find myself, but art is what healed me.

Ayurvedic clothing with healing properties, dyed in turmeric and indigo, manolo blahniks covered up in paint, up-cycled eco friendly products and printed scarves for a UAE company are some of the exciting projects you would stumble upon in Krishnan’s room. My aim is to share this with people who might benefit from this extraordinary art form,” says Krishnan. The eclectic, off-beat store Tribal Route will soon collaborate with Krishnan and organise mandala workshops.

When it comes to the festive season, Krishnan’s colourful aarti plates are impossible to miss out, “The colours of the aarti plates are inspired by saree designs,” says Krishnan, who considers Diwali to be the most beautiful festival in India, as long as everyone is environmentally conscious.

“I love celebrating the festival of lights, however I am completely against fire crackers. Lighting up diyas and making wonderful rangoli patterns is how I would choose to celebrate this holy season!”