II was born in 1975 in Calcutta in a joint family of fifty. Having been brought up in Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Delhi, Pune and Faridabad, I have constantly been exposed to a myriad of thoughts and ideas, sometimes getting bowled over by the most concrete idea coming from the simplest source. This is how I learned to respect people irrespective of age, sex, education and background.

I received convent education throughout and like most, climbed the education ladder up till an MBA. My days at LSR taught me to have an independent mind, and never fear destiny. At Symbiosis Pune , the class was a mix of people from different educational and societal backgrounds and my friends at the International hostel were from many different countries.

My Journey With Art

Post MBA in 1999, riding the wave of an idea, I discovered the art of soot painting, a term I coined for making artworks out of flame. It was a reversal of the art process whereby the canvas was moved over a stationary flame (brush) producing interesting results. What ensued over the next 15-20 years was honing the skill, till I could draw a straight thin line. From producing realistic works to making bigger abstracts and making colored soot paintings by layering with acrylics, the experimentation involved was exacting as well as rewarding. Soot paintings found a place in The Limca Book of Records in 2003