Silken knots
Having found artistic success late in life, Neerja Mohunta paints a glorious story
Always having been zestful and creatively inclined, Neerja Mohunta found her calling at an age when most of her counterparts chose to retire! “I got married when I turned 18 and at the age of 56 when both my children had settled, I thought it ‘was time to relax and enjoy the fruits of the seeds sown. But there was always a feeling of emptiness in me to do something for my personal attainment, that the candle had not burned fully, I tried to brush aside this feeling as all my peers were in the retirement mood, and I was well aware that to start something anew would require a lot of effort! But! decided to take the plunge and let my creative flow , once again!” mohunta recalls how while the responsibility of family.
she developed her artistic flair; “Just like an energetic river flows to make its own path, I too with all my enthusiasm and energy made my way in the natural space I got. I was lucky in having Vineet as my husband who was not only encouraging and supportive but was the answer to all my problems in arts.”
With an idea to explore various creative styles, she started taking classes on cooking, icing, sugar craft and garnishing. She soon moved on to Tiffany stained glass, mosaics, marquetry, porcelain, Tanjore painting, moulding, statue making and more. Dabbling with an array of creative skills, she eventually landed up taking 25 courses! Then again life took a steep turn when her kids.
“It’s never too late; Invest in yourself!”
Were going abroad to study and she decided to join the growing family business.
“Life was going on smoothly with the kids settled and me enjoying life with family and friends, But again lockdown halted our lives. It jolted us and we were forced to face the new reality,” she recalls, Rather than sitting idle, she decided to spark her creative mojo again! “I used to sean alot of new creative stuff and was working on writing a book on how to tie scarves, 200 ways. ‘That’s when I happened to come across silk painted scarves and instantly I was glued to them asa moth to flame! It reminded me of my stained glass days. The colours on silk just fascinated me and! decided to explore this art form.”
‘Thus began her journey of self-learning through books and videos… It took her six months to conquer this detailed and difficult art form as silk is non-forgiving: “It was difficult to self-learn this form of art, but knowing there are a very few silk painters in India and no one in Nagpur, that again gave me a boost! | realized it was a sophisticated, intricate, elegant art form even though expensive, just worth it!”
“Single-handedly doing all myself, now making silk scarves has become a way of life,” she says, “I received a lot of appreciation from friends and orders started pouring in, that’s when I decided to make ita venture,” She now has clients all over India via Etsy and her website and plans to showcase her scarves in USA too. “Apart from this I plan to start an online school of all my arts in near future. Today I’m my mid 50s and yet I found myself and my passion, even if it’s at this age! That’s why I keep saying and believing in = It’s never too late; Invest in yourself!”
I was surprised by the gorgeous wedding decorations. Fantastic job, really!
Lovely! My wife was happy to receive one the most amazing bouquets ever.
Your flower compositions are great. Simple and elegant, just how I like them.