Incredible India Collaboration Pieces - The Thought Behind...

 ‘The thought behind...’ blog is a space where I talk about my thoughts, reflections and some of my inspirations behind my pieces...

I’ve been a part of the Incredible India Collaboration for a while now. I really enjoy creating an edible art piece that represents my interpretation of the phrase.

Incredible India Cake Magazine - 2021

Krishna Leela: Pichwai paintings that originated in Nathdwara, Rajasthan over 400 years ago is my inspiration for this creation. Lord Krishna has inspired us to live a life of gratitude, happiness, celebration and above all, true love. In these creations, Radha and Krishna are shown enjoying nature’s bounty. Lord Krishna had a fondness for the Lotus flower and was often depicted holding it. Intricate and visually stunning, Pichwai paintings depict tales from the Lord’s life. They are pleasing artworks that evoke positive feelings. I have attempted to bring to life Lord Krishna's love for joy and celebration through my creation.

Incredible India Cake Magazine - 2018

Magic of Krishna: Lord Krishna, the most charismatic avatars of Lord Vishnu, is the God of compassion, tenderness and love. He is pictured in Hindu mythology with a crown of peacock’s feathers, playing the flute. The Peacock feather symbolizes many things - It is a symbol of beauty and knowledge. The eye in the feather represents the divine wisdom or the third eye of Krishna. It helps one attain the supreme knowledge of the self. The feather protects one from the evil eye and destroys all negativity like anger, greed and jealousy. It stands for beauty, richness in life, felicity and joy. I wanted the Peacock feathers to be the focal point and hence you will find the peacock feathers repeated in various styles and techniques - on the cake board, I have made impressions using feather chipboard and then dry brushed it with gold. On the bottom layer I have used the technique used in ribbon art to represent the feather, on the main tier - bass relief and on the top - wafer paper feathers. My composition is a celebration of Love; celebrating the epitome of Love - Lord Krishna

Incredible India Cake Magazine - 2017

Ajanta: The caves of Ajanta are home to some of the most magnificent masterpieces of Indian art. The murals and paintings of Ajanta are recognized as some of the greatest art produced by humankind in any century, as well as the finest picture gallery to survive from any ancient civilization.

In this composition I have given the background the texture of batik paintings, influenced by my mother, who is a popular Batik artiste.

The bottom tier represents the Ajanta cave carvings made in sandstone –I have used the block print embossing for this, the middle and top tiers – the Ajanta batik paintings that hang in my mother’s studio.

I have used Water Lilies to adorn this cake as among the flowers, the Water Lily is the most preferred symbol in Indian traditional Art, not only because of its beautiful form, but because of its profound symbolism. Water Lily is symbolic of rebirth, a symbol of all that is true, good and beautiful, representing good fortune, peace and enlightenment.

The Ajanta truly symbolizes all that India is about – the coming together of ancient times with modernism, the lasting civilization that has survived thousands of years, the vibrancy of color reflecting the varied hues of Indian culture and above all, the open-heartedness of Indian society.

Ajanta is one of what makes India Incredible!