“Every mother thinks best of their child. My mom thinks of me that way too. She was instrumental in identifying and shaping my interests in arts. I remember she telling me that when she had taken me for my pre-school admission as a child, we were given a task to color the birds and apparently I was the only one who managed to color within the lines. This anecdote has been doing the rounds in the family for several years now and has ensured that my interest in painting and sketching remains intact.

I was encouraged to participate in numerous competitions in school, colony, and national level events even as a child and I used every platform to hone my skills a little more. I do everything from oil painting to watercolor, to charcoal, to sketching, and my interest lies in mastering them all. That is the reason I chose to become an architect when it was time for me to pick a career.

I always enjoyed visiting temples with my family and sketching them once I am back home or sitting right there. That is when an uncle of mine suggested to my father that buying me a camera would be a great idea as it would help me capture the places I visit and later practice sketching them. Thus came in the third eye into my life, my camera. She’s been there with me everywhere I go and I enjoy the new perspectives she gives me every time I look through the lens. I started enjoying my journey of clicking pictures of monuments and painting and sketching them once I am back home.

As part of my Architecture course, I recently visited the Northern part of our country and was spell-bound seeing the immaculate architecture that was so different from what we have down south. Everything from the statues, to the material, to design had a different style. A standing reflection of all that the nation has seen and the diversity it embraces within it. I could not have enough of it, it was overwhelming. I kept clicking pictures all day long while learning more about the structures. I wish to travel more and see the marvels of the world’s architecture, but given a choice, I would first visit Cambodia as that’s where Angkor Wat – the largest religious monument in the world is. I am curious to see the architectural marvel that it holds.

As for my future plans, I am in the final year of my architecture, I plan to start a career in the same field while not compromising on the other art forms, which I plan on teaching kids through workshops in the future. And my journey with my camera is sure to continue too. We have miles to go and thousands of pictures to capture.”

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