GupShup with Srimoyee
Born and brought up in a Bengali household, art, craft, dance and music was a part of her life from the very beginning.
Yet, it was not something Srimoyee had visualized as a career path.
However, after a degree in engineering and management, and 7 years of the corporate world, Srimoyee decided to switch gears. Today, the founder of Syaaheechitra sees art as a healing process more than just a commercial enterprise.
It started with a short break from the corporate environment in order to spend time with her new-born for a few years. But things did not unfold as planned. Her son was diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum and she realigned her priorities to focus on his care.
“If you are a caregiver to a special needs child, it’s a very lonely world. After so many years of minding a child, taking care of therapies, I really needed to find something to do for myself,” says Srimoyee.
She started by creating small hand-painted home-decor items and gifting it to friends and family. What everyone admired about her work was her unique proposition of Indian folk art with simpler and more monochrome designs.
“My favorite form of art is monochrome. At any point in time, if I have my own brand line, it will be just pure black and white,” she adds.
Amidst all the admiration and appreciation she has received for her work, has she ever considered expanding her business by selling digital prints?
“It’s more about sitting and doing something that I like and sharing with people. I would want to keep it that way.”
Although Srimoyee strongly feels that it is very important to follow one’s passion, financial stability is cannot be overlooked. “At the end of the day, we need to pay our bills.”
Listen to the full GupShup with Srimoyee Mitra Paranjpye, as she walks us through her beautiful journey of Indian folk art and pen illustrations.
