Painting is my first love, form of meditation

HYDERABAD: Ever since my school days, I have always had a love for painting. I remember getting the first prize at a competition in school for painting the sunset.
However, there was never the time or opportunity to paint until I finished college. I don’t remember how it all started, but I recollect painting on sarees for a shop to spend my time back in those days. Then I got married and went to the USA, where I got an opportunity to join a formal drawing and painting class and I learned a lot in the process.
After that, I again got busy with children and travelling. It was only after my husband and I moved to Hyderabad and he got so busy with work that I took up painting again seriously. Besides, the atmosphere at ISB, where we lived, was so conducive for painting.
I learned other forms of painting like Tanjore painting and Kalamkari, but realised that my strength was in watercolour painting after attending a six months course at Chitrakala Parishad in Bangalore, where we lived before coming to Hyderabad.
I stayed with watercolours for some time now and of course, Covid-19 and the lockdown gave me ample time to pursue my passion for painting. I also took online classes in Madhubani and Warli art during the pandemic. Now, I paint almost every day. Painting is a kind of meditation for me and I know I will continue it until my eyesight fails.