27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
The Constant Gardener
Choudhury is no stranger to artistic experiments, having embraced a diversity of materials and media through the decades, including acrylic, enamel, ceramics, embroidery, textile art and vegetable dyes on handmade paper. She was first introduced to natural dyes and eco-printing around 2006 at Patha Bhavan in Kolkata, where she once served as an art and craft teacher. During the pandemic, she found herself rediscovering this organic technique and the creative results of these experiments form the cornerstone of Aranyaka. 'I transfer the shapes and impressions of leaves directly onto the paper or cloth,' Choudhury explains. Born in Siliguri in 1950, the artist inherited a love for horticulture from her late mother. 'My mother had planted a sapling of Kamini flowers in our garden. It has become a big plant now with dark green leaves and cuticles. During the monsoon, it blossoms with white flowers. I feel it is my mother's blessing,' muses Choudhury.
