In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

– Albert Einstein

We all know the vicious cycle of opportunities, they rarely present themselves upfront. One needs to make way through hurdles to find it. It is no secret that success is but an end result of hardships turned into stepping stones towards a goal.

One such individual that has worked hard when challenges presented themselves is today’s Sakhi Pratiti D.!

A Pune-based artist, Pratiti with her dream project, Pratikrut, (I love the name), began the journey when the whole world had come to a standstill. The COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak and everyone was cooped up in their houses. Despite the dire times, she chose to believe in herself and her art and kept going!

Here’s her SakhiStory

Since the time I could hold a brush, painting has been more than a hobby for me. I believe paintings are both joyful and introspective ways to know yourself and reflect on your own life experiences. For me, I have always been keen to use bright colours to accentuate positive emotions and feelings.

I often see people falling to the misconception that artists are quiet people. I believe artists are extremely expressive. Art can be an expression of emotions that we are unable to bring out verbally or through words alone.

I have been lucky to have studied psychology. And undoubtedly, it has been incorporated into my art. Moreover, I get inspiration from the ancient art forms of the Indian subcontinent, a source that we may all have overlooked.

Witnessing ancient Indian art for inspiration, helps me feel deeply connected to the country’s culture and history. It is beautiful and intricate and shows how passionate we always have been for art.

Like a student would carry their master’s work forward, I would like to carry forward this passion, through my art and my platform ‘Pratikrut’. Pratikrut is a combination of Indian heritage, folk art, traditional, and antique paintings. The paintings, Madhubani from Mithila to Mural Art in Kerala, bring to life the roots and ways of life of many Indian cultures.

The cultural development visible through art is living proof that art carries forward the will of our ancestors. And even today, it continues to serve as a reflection of our own lives or those we want to be part of our lives. So, I am inspired to take this task forward and look forward to telling more stories through my art.”

#womenentrepreneurs #storytelling #SakhiKahani #Sakhistories #ProjectSakhi