Manika: A Brush against Boundaries

By Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
Dehradun, 5 Feb: Not every day does one get a pleasant surprise in one’s postal mail. But we were in luck, a beautiful fridge magnet from talented Manika Pant made Landour’s winter morning blues a wee bit warmer with her thoughtful hand-made gift.
Now in her thirties, Manika is a gifted child to Arun and Prabha Pant, settled in Dehradun. Mentored by Col Vijay K Dougall at Dr Dwijen Sen Memorial, Kala Kendra, Dehradun, Manika has learnt the art of visual thinking, expressing her thoughts and ideas through colours. She does not confine her art to any typical pattern or genre and loves to experiment with mediums and colours. Nature has been her mentor as far as inspiration goes and Manika gives her landscape and everyday objects an interesting perspective through colours or by just keeping them monotone.
As Manika’s doting mother Prabha puts it, “She is continuously working on her sketching skills and trying out new materials like colour pencil and charcoal. I look at her daily application as ‘reeyaaz’. Two-three hours of immersive experience from Monday to Friday.” She adds, “Saturday-Sunday Manika takes a well-deserved break, announcing it as a WEEKEND!”
A regular at exhibitions countrywide, Manika has exhibited her art work at various galleries such as the Art Society of India, Mumbai, along with online exhibitions giving her the perfect platform to showcase her artwork such as The Manikarnika Art Gallery, The India Art Fest, and The India Art Contest. Over the past decade the young lady has been busy putting colours to canvas and honing her skills which in turn have now been designed into fridge magnets as well which are up for sale along with her original work for those interested in getting their hands on these beauties (fridge magnets and the original paintings) can reach out at +91 8979505039.