Global IndianstorySudarsan Pattnaik: How a school dropout became a world-renowned sand artist

Indian Artists

Sudarsan Pattnaik: How a school dropout became a world-renowned sand artist

Written by: Global Indian

(October 13, 2021) “The beach was my canvas and my fingers, the brush. Water gave shape to my sculpture and the only color needed was that of sand,” said Bhubaneswar-based sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, echoing his sentiment towards his art. Something he has been dedicated to for the last four decades. Infusing a sort of life into sand is no easy feat but Pattnaik is the master of this art form. The Padma Shri-awardee has been enchanting the world with his body for years now, and every other day, a new surprise springs up on the beaches of the world, courtesy Pattnaik.

While his beautiful art has found an audience across the globe, this 44-year-old had to fight a long battle to get fame and recognition. A school drop out, who worked at a neighbor’s house to make meets end, loved making sand sculptures. This love soon translated into passion and made him one of the biggest names in India and abroad. Here’s the inspiring journey of this Global Indian who persevered to make a mark in the world.

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How beach became his canvas

Born in a poor family in 1977 in Puri, Pattnaik was quite creative from a tender age. But the financial struggles for this then young boy were so real that he couldn’t afford to buy material for painting as he lived on the ₹200 that his grandfather received as pension. To make ends meet, he would work at his neighbor’s home. Between the tiresome chores, he would often go to the beach and use it as his canvas. “I loved playing with the sand, which gradually turned into a passion. Sand art came to me naturally and no one taught me how to do it. I learnt as I struggled. I started at the age of 7 and here I am painting my imagination in the nature,” he told OneIndia in an interview.

His sand sculptures caught people’s attention, and this inspired him to continue creating magic with sand, despite the art being rather uncommon at the time. Pattnaik, who studied till class six, had to drop out of school due to financial constraints. But this detour led him towards sand sculpting, something that was set to take him to his destiny. However, being a sand artist was equally challenging because most people considered it to be temporary art. Regardless, Pattnaik persevered and is happy that it shaped him as an artist and an individual. During the process, he picked up various languages as he often met many foreign tourists who visited the Puri beach and they helped him diversify his vocabulary. “I did not know English, but God granted me a gift. Since I used to work on the beaches where people from various countries came, I picked up several languages from there. When I started participating in various national and international competitions, I had to communicate and there I picked up a few more languages,” he added.

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An art form unheard of

When Pattnaik began doing sand art in the 90s, not many understood him or his art. It took many years for people to finally recognize his talent and appreciate his work. “For about 16 years, I worked hard to make sand sculpting popular because this was an art form that was hardly known in those days. People only thought of sand sculptures as art forms that could be easily destroyed,” he told Parent Circle.

Pattnaik was convinced that sand sculpting could be at par with other arts so in 1991 he started Sudarsan Sand Art Institute in Puri where he teaches children this art form.

Global journey

Things started to look up for him when he received his first international invitation. However, his financial condition often played spoilsport which ultimately led to his visa being rejected. Eventually with support from the Indian government, his first international trip happened in 1998 when he exhibited his work during the World Travel Market in London. This was the beginning of a new innings for him. Soon he was travelling to countries like France, China, Singapore and Denmark to participate in championships. In 2001, he won the third prize in World’s Master Sand Sculpture’s Championship in Italy and soon started picking up trophies at various international festivals.

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If he was winning accolades abroad, back home too, Pattnaik had become a star. In 2004, he won the National Youth Award and the very next year, he picked up the National Tourism Award. In 2009, he was named the People of the Year by Limca Book. Not just this, former President of India, Pratibha Patel felicitated him on her visit to Puri. These laurels were a testimony to the growing popularity of his art. While Pattnaik had become a popular name, he went a step further and scripted history when he set a Guinness World Record for creating World’s Tallest Sand Castle in 2012.

In the last two decades, Pattnaik has represented India in over 60 sand sculpture championships across the globe. If he won People’s Choice Prize in Bulgaria in 2016, he won a gold medal in Russia in 2017. But one of his biggest moments came in 2019 when he became the first Indian to win the Italian Golden Sand Art Award for his teen-feet high sand sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi.

Sudarsan Pattnaik won Italian Golden Sand Art Award in 2019.

The reason that Pattnaik’s world has found a fan following across the globe is that his work highlights social issues. “People easily connect with my sculptures. Most of my art forms are about social issues like social degradation and evils in the society. I believe that these issues should be discussed in today’s world and putting it out artistically will draw a lot of people’s attention,” he told The Citizen.

When Pattnaik started sand sculpting, it looked like a far-fetched dream but the 44-year-old transformed his dream into a reality with his hard work and determination.

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Published on 13, Oct 2021

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From Singapore to the world: Carnatic singer Sushma Soma’s ragas ring out loud

(April 26, 2022) One of her earliest memories of music is listening to her now 92-year-old grandmother singing as she was fed. Today, the award-winning 35-year-old Carnatic singer, Sushma Soma, enthuses about how music was always her passion. Kicking off her journey as a singer at just four, the Singapore-based artist has under her belt an impressive repertoire of performances at several prestigious venues – such as the Indian Embassy Brussels, the Bhavan London, and the Madras Music Academy in Chennai. In 2021, Soma collaborated with Bharatanatyam exponent Mythili Prakash at the Reflektor Festival, Hamburg curated by Anoushka Shankar as vocalist and co-composers. “My most precious childhood memories were listening to Tamil songs on my grandfather’s transistor radio, and waking up to the sound of MS Subbulakshmi’s morning prayers. My grandmother would sing, in fact she still sings so sweetly. I started training at a young age, all this shaped my path,” shares Sushma during an interview with Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_39147" align="aligncenter" width="645"] Sushma with her gramdmother[/caption] Her recently released second album, Home, incorporates environmental issues and raises awareness about sustainability through her music. Sushma created the album along with Aditya Prakash. “Home combines my Carnatic sensibilities, and my

" /> Sushma with her gramdmother[/caption]

Her recently released second album, Home, incorporates environmental issues and raises awareness about sustainability through her music. Sushma created the album along with Aditya Prakash. “Home combines my Carnatic sensibilities, and my passion for the natural world. The starting point was a series of incidents that left me feeling gutted; from the pregnant elephant in India who tragically died when she fed on a pineapple stuffed with explosives, to the loss of indigenous plants and wildlife in the Amazon forest fires. This album is special as it stems from so many things I care about - forests and wildlife,” shares the Carnatic singer, who has won several awards in her career, including the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council Singapore, 2020.

Her archival work with the National Archives of Singapore was also given a special mention at the Singapore Parliament in March 2019.

The Land of Lion

A Tamilian from Chennai, Sushma was hardly 41 days old, when her parents shifted to Singapore (1980s). Growing up, she felt like a minority in Singapore. “Back in the day, Indian expats were not a common sight in Singapore. I grew up around kids who would talk in Chinese or English. While I knew the language, I was deeply connected to Tamil, which we spoke at home. That’s why I loved visiting my cousins in Chennai on vacation,” shares the Carnatic singer.

At four, Sushma started learning the basics of Carnatic music from a teacher who lived right across the street. Being around her teacher, Sushma shares, made her fall in love with music. “She used to perform at temples and would take me along. So, I have been performing on stage since four. During many events, my parents would come back stage to take me home. But I would stay back, because I just loved being around my teacher,” Sushma reminisces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caa9qcrddXE

A diploma in Carnatic vocals at Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFA) in 1993, although she loved to perform, she continued to pursue a traditional career. A mathematics lover, she was obsessed with books growing up. The artiste attained a degree in accountancy from Nanyang Technological University, and a job at one of the Big Four accounting firms. However, it was not long before she realised that her heart was not in her work and she felt a “growing obsession” for music.

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When she said as much to her father, a chartered accountant, he was shocked. “He freaked out that his daughter was leaving a set career for music. However, he never stopped supporting me,” says the Carnatic singer.

A musical journey...

Not long after leaving her job Sushma shifted to Chennai in 2009, where she lived with her uncle and grandmother. She started training under well-known artiste Lalita Sivakumar, an experience she defines as “a blessing.” Over the course of the next decade, back in Singapore, Sushma performed solo and in collaborations across the world - London, Luxembourg, Brussels, San Diego, Los Angeles, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore just to name a few.

[caption id="attachment_23468" align="aligncenter" width="5081"] Sushma during 2017 Wandering Artist concert[/caption]

"I constantly find myself seeking that one moment during my performances, where it is just me and my music. These moments are fleeting, and rare, but I keep chasing them. For the past five years, I have been trying to express my emotions through music, and that is very liberating and empowering,” shares Sushma, who is currently student of RK Shriram Kumar, a leading Carnatic musician and musicologist.

Actively engaged in the arts as a researcher, educator and writer, Sushma shares that she always reads up about the theme of her songs. “I think that is something that my husband instilled in me - to research about anything before making a song about it,” she laughs sharing, “My husband, Srinivas, is one of the first I share my songs with, and only when he likes it, I finalise it.” Sushma’s husband is an IT professional, working in Singapore.

[caption id="attachment_23465" align="aligncenter" width="638"] Sushma with her co-creator and best friend, Aditya Prakash[/caption]

Busy with rehearsals and events, Sushma shares that she enjoys long walks which are “like meditation. But, of late I have started listening to podcasts on human behaviour to understand our psychology,” shares the Carnatic singer, who loves to bake.

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Ankon Mitra: Redefining space and structure with the art of origami

(September 21, 2024) Trained as an architect, Ankon Mitra has found his calling as an artist, particularly through the ancient Japanese technique of origami. Over the past decade, the 42-year-old has carved a name for his unique art (central to which is the technique of folding) that transform materials as different as paper and concrete into monumental sculptures that redefine spatial dynamics and textures. Recipient of the All-India Gold Medal for Sculpture in 2018 from the Prafulla Dahanukar Foundation, his art has been published in the Victoria and Albert Museum's catalogue of ‘Papercrafts’ published by the Thames and Hudson in 2018. [caption id="attachment_56306" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Ankon Mitra[/caption] Having showcased his work across the world, including the CODA Museum in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, and Arte Laguna, Arsenale de Nord, Venice (2021), the India Pavilion of the London Design Biennale at the Somerset House (2022), and the Shanghai Paper Art Biennale (2023), the artist has transcended boundaries due to the universal nature of his work. He shares with Global Indian, “My work is an extension of my love of nature. From a beehive to the center of a sunflower—everything I do is centered around nature. It is my inspiration and constant muse.”

He shares with Global Indian, “My work is an extension of my love of nature. From a beehive to the center of a sunflower—everything I do is centered around nature. It is my inspiration and constant muse.”

An accidental artist

Born and brought up in Delhi in an artistically inclined family, Ankon never explored the possibility of being an artist. “My mother worked with the Ministry of Defense, while my father was in the steel trade. While we were interested in the artistic side of life, no one in my family pursued it seriously.”

Incidentally, his passion for art stemmed from his interest in landscape architecture, as he confesses that he always loved the clean lines of a well-tended garden. He explains, “I was always interested in math and science, so that gives a great sense of grounding and balance to my art. Because I am artistically inclined as well as technically minded, I can see things uniquely.”

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Folding is intrinsic to Ankon’s art. He started with folding paper, as it made him look at things structurally differently. The interplay of light and shadows in folded structures fascinated him, which led to his initiation into art. His ability to take the fragile, often overlooked medium of paper and transform it into complex, layered structures earned him recognition both in India and internationally.

“When you fold something, a flat structure appears three-dimensional due to the trick of light,” he notes and adds, “Fold is a natural form. We are all made of folds, and through my experiments, I hope to showcase diverse perspectives.”

He experiments not only with paper but with various materials like metal, wood, fabric (from ikat to zardosi), and even concrete, pushing the boundaries of traditional art forms.

A mirage of forms

One of Ankon’s most significant achievements is his contribution to the intersection of art and science, where he applies the principles of origami to solve architectural and engineering problems. His large-scale installations explore eclectic concepts, creating immersive experiences that invite viewers to contemplate the delicate balance between order and chaos.

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In a short period, the artist has made a name for himself. In 2014, when he had his first show (he laughs, saying he did not sell a single work from the exhibition), he introduced the concept of working with different materials to the art world. By 2016, when he had his second show, he had already made his mark and gained confidence, as was seen in stunning installations that included metal folding and using origami techniques to work with fabric.

His latest show, Maps Unfolded, uses historic maps (from traditional Indian pilgrimage maps, printed bazaar maps, and city maps) to create a stunning array of work. One interpretation shows the juxtaposition of the British Map of Jaipur from 1920 and the UNESCO World Heritage Map in 2012. While a folded surface gives a glance of the same localities separated by nearly a century, one can see how time changes borders, populations, and priorities.

He explains, “I want people to view narratives in unexpected ways. As one walks around the maps, different stories emerge from different views. The visual comparison shows how the syntax of the journey of cities and people can change with the passage of time.”

Other installations show the maps of Tibet that explore terrain through folds, while others use the Japanese technique of origami to create objects of startling beauty. Apart from maps, installations traverse the genres of space and nature, a recurring theme in the artist’s work.

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A global artist

The artist proudly states that group effort is core to his output. He works with a team of architects at his studio in Delhi, and given the size and scale of the work he does, collaboration is a key part of his artistic process. Another key aspect of his success lies in the fact that there is a dialogue between the artist and the material (from jute to cane) that shines through. Depending on the medium, he derives the process be it making molds, undercutting the strength of the material or creating distorted shapes.

In little over ten years, the artist has made his mark for his eclectic work without precedence. Ask him why, and the genial artist smiles, “It is because geometry is universal and I layer Indian sensibility throughout my works. The material, the sense of color, and the references are all Indian, while the outlook is international. My work marries global thought with Indian roots.”

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Ankon’s work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries and art fairs across the world, and he continues to inspire with his pioneering approach. What makes his art special is its capacity to evoke wonder—a simple fold in his hands becomes a dynamic, intricate universe that mirrors the complexity of life itself.

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From scientific labs to artistic canvas: Rahul Mitra’s multifaceted journey

(April 23, 2024) There is an all-pervasive energy that abounds when 56-year-old Rahul Mitra speaks. It is little wonder that the Hyderabad-born and Houston-based artist is also a scientist and award-winning writer. The multi-faceted professional helped develop therapeutics for ovarian cancer that are now in clinical trials, and as an artist, uses visual language drawn from his experience to interpret personal and socio-political dialogues - exploring various facets of life from love to technology. Working across different media, from oils and acrylics to figurative art and installations, he focuses on studying the underbelly of global cultures. [caption id="attachment_50883" align="aligncenter" width="618"] Rahul Mitra[/caption] His work has been widely exhibited across the world, including the First Printmaking Triennial of ULUS in Serbia, the Texas Biennial, the India Art Fair, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Portland Museum of Art, and the Centre Pompidou, amongst others. Visually striking with bold colors and with themes that are universal in nature, the artist’s work is appealing both visually and cerebrally. Shaped by early experiences Growing up in Hyderabad in the 1970s, Rahul Mitra was deeply influenced by his surroundings. Always interested in drawing and sketching, he remembers art and culture as an integral part of

cerebrally.

Shaped by early experiences

Growing up in Hyderabad in the 1970s, Rahul Mitra was deeply influenced by his surroundings. Always interested in drawing and sketching, he remembers art and culture as an integral part of life. From classical musicians playing in the streets where everyone assembled in the evenings, burra kathas in the neighborhood, and screenings of mythological films via projectors in temples, he was shaped very early by art.

“Culture back then was simply on the street and literally all around you,” recalls the Global Indian and adds, “Most calendar art was influenced by religious texts, and it was a simpler time when most people did not have much money (it was socialist India after all), but the quality of life was much better.”

What cemented his interest further was the legendary Hyderabad artist Surya Prakash’s studio, which he used to visit. “He was my friend (now the filmmaker) Nagesh Kukunoor’s neighbor in our colony, and I used to go see his works. He used to spread them on the floor, making it an impressive sight,” he recalls.

Opportunity came early on via an unexpected source. His teacher, on noticing his impressive drawings, recommended that he illustrate a book in the NCERT curriculum, and his mentor then was a teacher who worked in the local school. The artist smiles and says, “I used to go to the school after hours where my art teacher used to work in the corridors, and it was a sight to behold, with the entire area drenched in color. I still remember using water colors to work with, which is a difficult medium at best.”

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Hyderabad was then a small, sleepy, and green city that shaped the young artist’s mind. Another memorable experience was traveling on trains and observing people and society, which left an indelible mark on his consciousness. The artist recalls going to Vijayawada frequently, even as a teenager, as his father owned a printing press in the town and was amazed by the statues of Lenin and Stalin that were at street corners, which gave him a world view very early on.

It was this outlook that fed his mind and soul, as well as his art. Mitra’s work is deeply influenced by socio-political issues he witnessed in his childhood, including the disparities between the rich and poor, the macro- and micro-issues that society faces, and dual identities; all of this still forms the crux of his inspiration.

The flight to United States

Fate, however, had different plans for him, as he went to the US in 1990 (after studying at IIT Roorkee) and pursued his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Maine before working as a scientist. He held various posts of distinction, including that of Director of the non-coding RNA Cancer Center at the prestigious MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, USA, where he helped develop therapeutics for ovarian cancer that are now in clinical trials.

Life in the US in the early 1990s was exciting for the scientist turned artist. He shares, “I was so excited to see a new culture. Yes, food was difficult, but I was resourceful and started cooking. There were fewer Indians, and in Maine, I was considered exotic, but life was fun.”

Even in all those busy years, Mitra never really gave up painting. Juggling a marriage and a high-pressure job was not easy, but he did it. “I’m wired that way. I sleep only for three-four hours, so it never seemed like I had a long day. I always appreciated my work—be it looking for ink for my fountain pen or meeting an artist—everything I do, I do it with passion,” he smiles.

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From the scientific to the artistic world

It was this passion that, in 2008, made Rahul Mitra return to art after a visit to the Venice Biennale inspired him. His first show, Dialogues of Civilization, held at G Gallery in Houston, was very well received and ensured that he never looked back. What the artist achieved through his work was to showcase the disparities that are prevalent in all societies, from the caste system in India to racial injustice in the West. It is this raw energy that makes one think while viewing his art.

“I want my art to raise questions and implore people to look within. There are many things that go undocumented in history. My aim is to focus on issues like those that are uncomfortable and compel us to look around us. I’m influenced by early European art but viewed with the lens of my Telangana roots,” he states.

His current show, The Elephant in the Room, in acrylic and oils, showcases elements of Hyderabad juxtaposed against the issues it faces. From autos to arches of religious structures to issues of colonialism and modernization, they provoke the viewer to think. Deeply metaphorical, his work captures the issues modern societies grapple with, from lopsided urban development to gender disparities.

[caption id="attachment_50884" align="aligncenter" width="800"] One of Rahul Mitra's works[/caption]

His visual vocabulary is unique, as is his process of work. He first makes rough sketches of his work before using digital collages to get an impression of what the finished art looks like before he executes his vision on the canvas. Also passionate about public installations, the artist has worked on multiple projects using materials as simple as cartons and wood, creating deeply impactful works, which Rahul Mitra calls the Box City.

Love for India and its heritage

In all things creative, including writing, the author has never let his roots in India fade away. They form his constant muse and forever inspiration.

As someone who has been based out of the US for over three decades, how has life changed for Indians in the country? He smiles. “After the internet took off, I think Indians are looked at with much respect. Most Indians are highly educated and contribute actively to society.”

How much has changed for Indians pursuing the American dream from the 90s to now? He ponders before answering with a laugh, “Technology has revolutionized life. Back then, I used to pay three dollars to call for a minute. Now, it's free, so younger students can feel closer to their parents. It reminds me of the old movies when magicians could see people in the mirrors at the chant of a mantra, just that the iPhone has replaced the mirror.”

[caption id="attachment_50885" align="aligncenter" width="626"] Rahul Mitra with his family[/caption]

With a lawyer wife Mini Kapoor and artistically inclined children Anika (who works with Deloitte in New York) and Manav (who has just finished high school), the artist is in a happy space. For someone who loves traveling, cooking, and collecting comics with his family, his next goal is all ready—to find a publisher for his manuscript!

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Nalini Malani: The multimedia artist is amplifying women’s voice through art

(November 2, 2021) She can be easily called the pioneer of Multimedia Art in India. At a time when Indian painters were still painting the traditional way, Nalini Malani was busy experimenting with mixed media. Her art isn't just visual but is an orchestra for all the five senses. Her work in the last few decades has been a comment on feminism, a subject closer to her heart. Her artwork has been giving voice to the women who have been silenced over generations, and this has earned her the Arts & Culture Fukuoka Prize, making her the first Asian woman to achieve the feat. The 75-year-old artist, who studied in the Paris, has carved a niche for herself in the art world. Here's the story of this Global Indian who is making women's voices heard through her art. The beginning - Mumbai to Paris Malani's journey began a year before India attained independence, and her family sought refuge in Kolkata during the Partition before relocating to Mumbai in 1958. During her formative years, the conflict of displacement and refuge played a crucial role in her life, and soon she began expressing herself through art. Her idea of creative liberation took

ge played a crucial role in her life, and soon she began expressing herself through art. Her idea of creative liberation took her to the JJ School of Art where she obtained a diploma in Fine Arts. During her art school days, she had a studio at the Bhulabhai Memorial Institute, which was a multidisciplinary centre inviting artists, musicians and theater actors to work individually and as a community. This experience gave a young Malani the perfect exposure and became a stepping stone for her participation in the Vision Exchange Workshop (VIEW), an initiative by veteran artist Akbar Padamsee. With art still being a male-dominated craft, she was the only female member at the workshop. It was here that she developed a penchant for photography and film, and explored the themes of the turbulent political and social scenario of India during those times.

In 1970, Malani moved to Paris on a scholarship awarded by the French government to study fine arts. In Paris, Malani found the freedom to design her own education since the Ecole des Beaux-Arts was yet to reconfigure its new syllabus. Those two years in the capital of France, Malani practiced printmaking at Atelier Friedlander and immersed herself in Marxist politics while attending lectures by Naom Chomsky, Simone de Beauvoir and attending film screenings at the Cinematheque Francaise where she met Jean-Luc Godard and Chris Marker. Paris gave her the foundation she needed as an artist before she returned to India in 1973.

[caption id="attachment_14827" align="aligncenter" width="553"] An artwork by Nalini Malani[/caption]

The feminist artist

Upon her return, she moved to the bustling market of Lohar Chawl in Mumbai where her work reflected the lives of middle-class Indian families. She began working with paintings - acrylic on canvas and watercolour on paper, and produced art that portrayed contemporary India. Though Paris gave her the freedom to explore art, she was disappointed with the lack of acknowledgement that women artists had to face back home in the 70s. She resolved to bring them together for a group show after a meeting with visual artist Nancy Spero and American feminist artist May Stevens at the AIR Gallery in New York in 1979. Seeing the gallery's fierce determination to create a space for the work of female artists, Malani returned to India with idea of extending the formula. After years of negotiation with public and private institutions, she curated the first exhibition of Indian female artists titled Through The Looking Glass. It toured for three years, between 1986 and1989, to non-commercial venues as Malani was keen to take art beyond the elitist atmosphere of the art gallery.

Malani has always been vocal about feminism and she made every attempt to make women visible outside the narratives of femininity through her work. She often gave voice to women who have been silenced by works of literature like Sita from Ramayana and Cassandra and Medea from Greek mythology. "Understanding the world from a feminist perspective is an essential device for a more hopeful future, if we want to achieve something like human progress, she said at Centre Pompiduo in 2018.

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Pioneer in Multimedia Art

Over the next few years, her art was exhibited in India and abroad. She has been one of the earliest artists to experiment with mixed media and move away from traditional media. "A major turning point in my relationship to written sources in my work came in 1979 when I met the artist RB Kitaj at one of his exhibitions in New York. There I saw an artwork titled If Not, Not, taken from TS Eliot’s The Wasteland. Kitaj said to me: 'Some texts have artworks in them.' Since then, the inclusion of literary or philosophical excerpts has remained a constant in my practice," she told Studio International in an interview.

It was in the 90s that her work began to drastically incorporate medium other than the canvas after the Babri Masjid demolition as it triggered a shift in her art. The renewed religious conflicts that brought back the memories of the Partition for her pushed her artistic endeavours past the boundaries of the surface and into the space. Her foray into the performing art and keen interest in literature brought new dimensions to her art. This even led her to create a new form of art, the video-play that would allow her theatre plays to travel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj0b9ULNSqU

Known as one of the pioneers of Multimedia Art, Malani found her work exhibited across the globe from New Zealand to Switzerland to Mauritius to USA. In 2013, she added another feather to her cap when she became the first Asian woman to receive the Arts & Culture Fukuoka Prize for her consistent focus on contemporary themes like war, oppression of women and environmental destruction.

Malani, who began her journey in the art scene in the 60s, has come a long way and has become a name to reckon with in the international art circle.

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Madhuri Vijay: The Indian author who landed in Hawaii to give shape to her award-winning debut novel

(August 2, 2021; 6.45pm) Once upon a time there was a girl who’d been chosen for the prestigious Watson Fellowship which took her around the world - South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and Malaysia - to write short stories. Halfway through the trip though, Madhuri Vijay gave up on her PhD plan. She had been writing every single day, but was quite unimpressed by her short stories. Interestingly years later, one of those stories evolved to become Vijay’s debut novel The Far Field, winner of the 2019 JCB Prize for Literature, one of India’s highest literary awards. The book was also shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Set between the hustle and bustle of Bangalore and the starkness of the Kashmir Valley, the book explores the fractured relationship of a mother and daughter, the pain of unrequited love, and the need to leave behind one life only to unwittingly leave dangerous repercussions on another. Restless and unsure, Shalini, the protagonist in the book, is the quintessential outsider. Shalini’s desperate need to belong and simply fit in is real and Vijay manages to bring alive each emotion with characters that are carefully fleshed out and situations that are as insightful as they are heart rending. [embed]https://twitter.com/TheJCBPrize/status/1190681444466733057?s=20[/embed] For

lini’s desperate need to belong and simply fit in is real and Vijay manages to bring alive each emotion with characters that are carefully fleshed out and situations that are as insightful as they are heart rending.

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For a debut, the novel was received exceptionally well. In fact, Vijay overtook the likes of Perumal Murugan to win the JCB prize. Nikesh Shukla of The Guardian wrote, “Vijay writes with an assurance surprising in a first-time novelist, and is a delight to read. And while this is an in-depth expansion on the history and people of Jammu and Kashmir (humane but never sentimental), it is her protagonist who compels most, as Shalini watches her certainties gradually taken away from her and then returned laden with nuance and complexity.”

But did you know that it was a challenge for Vijay to find a publisher in India? First published in the US, The Far Field found no takers in Vijay’s homeland; no publisher seemed to want to take on a novel that threatened the current climate in the country. That is until Harper Collins finally agreed to publish the book and there has been no looking back ever since. Now settled in Hawaii, Vijay is working on her second book as well as teaching English and writing-related subjects at a small school.

From Bangalore to the world

Born in 1987 in Bangalore, Vijay spent a majority of her time in the Indian city, before she moved to the US in 2009 to study psychology and English at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. After her graduation, she received a Watson Fellowship, which took her to South Africa, Malaysia and Tanzania while studying Indians living in foreign lands. Halfway through, she left to attend the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

[caption id="attachment_6558" align="aligncenter" width="582"] Madhuri Vijay: The Indian author who landed in Hawaii to give shape to her award-winning debut novel Madhuri Vijay; Photo Courtesy: Huffington Post[/caption]

Vijay also spent a few years volunteering as a teacher with Haji Public School in Jammu & Kashmir’s Doda district. The years she spent there were amongst the “most stimulating, exhausting and exciting of my life,” she told Scroll in an interview. “It forced me to confront my many limitations, as well as the limitations in the average Indian’s knowledge about Kashmir. I was living in the Pahari region of J&K, 250 kilometers from Srinagar, yet Indians kept asking me about “the valley,” as if there were no distinction.”

“I once showed a photo of my nine-year-old student to an older relative; her half-joking response was that he looked “like a little terrorist.” These subtle prejudices, and their accompanying arrogance, were eye-opening to me, not least because they are the precise opposite of what Haji Public School is trying to achieve.”

Debut novel

Vijay had wanted to write a book set in Kashmir for a long time, even before she went there. In an interview with Huffington Post, Vijay said, she was baffled that not many people were aware of the Kashmir conflict or even talking about it. “It was astonishing to me that everybody wasn’t thinking about it. And that was the case, especially where I grew up – in Bangalore – it wasn’t a topic of conversation. All through the ’90s, I cannot remember anybody sitting down and having a long conversation about Kashmir. Or even being able to eavesdrop enough to pick up the contours of the conflict.”

The author had her fair share of challenges while writing the book. For instance, when she showed her first draft to a teacher, she was asked to scrap it and restart as it wasn’t too great. However, Vijay went with her faith in her writing and soldiered on and she was glad she didn’t take the advice.

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In recent times

While Vijay dedicates some of her time to teaching, she has also been in the news for her recent short story You Are My Dear Friend, which was first published in The New Yorker. Received well, the story was recently included in the book Best American Short Stories 2021.

Editor’s Take

Writing a novel is not everyone’s cup of tea. Writing one with conviction while surrounded by naysayers is even more daunting. But Madhuri Vijay went with her instinct and faith in her writing, and today The Far Field is a complex yet nuanced work that is testimony of her command of storytelling.

Reading Time: 5 mins