"Universe, Balance: Rama" (2023)

Sketched with ink markers. Piece depicts the Hindu goddess of beauty and wealth, Lakshmi Devi. Two lotus flowers are tucked behind her ears, and her golden crown contrasts with the blue tone of her skin. Lakshmi is symbolically shown with blue skin to indicate that she is the wife of Sri Vishnu (who is also depicted with blue skin in Indian artwork to indicate that his skin is very dark, akin to that of blue rainclouds). Lakshmi's facial features in this peace are meant to bring a sense of peace, and her hair is drawn stylistically in curls.

Book cover and jacket designed using Adobe Illustrator for "The Suicide Pact," an English play by Dr. Advikolanu Muralidhar, a South Indian Telugu poet and writer. The central lesson is highlighted on the back cover. Each element from the set design and the themes/events themselves are illustrated. The play centers on a professor and his artistic wife, Lalitha, who despise one another, themselves, and their lives. One night, they draft a suicide pact. Since the play occurs over one night, the book spine, and the book cover's ceiling fan contains a single moon. The ceiling fan, with a sari and tie hanging from it, implies potential death looming over the characters' heads. The eye in the fan represents the audience bearing witness, who ultimately decide the story's conclusion. One line from the fan spirals into two, connecting to "U" and "I" to symbolize individuals, once united in love, now estranged. The wall has several symbols: There are two portraits of a hanging, one with and one without the head attached, to show both potential conclusions to the story. There is Lalitha's scribble next to the hangings, as she laments the meaninglessness of art and art critique. A sketch of a mother and child is drawn by Lalitha yet slashed to show her lost dream of motherhood. A question mark and quotation marks show how the majority of the play is dialogue with existential questions. The quotation marks also hint at the professor's monologue about the pointlessness of speech. A cage from the set design provides a feeling of being trapped in marriage/life. Cigarettes, a watch, a fountain pen, bangles, an ashtray and the suicide pact itself, are laid out on a table. The mangalsutra (wedding necklace) lies discarded, to show the dissolvement of marital bonds. The professor's glasses are cracked, to show distorted perspectives. The table doubles as the Bombay apartment where the characters reside, with shattered windows on one side and windows with the words "You, Me" scribbled on in Telugu. "You, me" is a phrase repeated when the characters are in love, yet those words change their meaning that night. The last letter of "Me" and the first letter of "You" are the same in Telugu, hence they merge initially (to symbolize unity in love) and gradually separate and reflect (to symbolize distortion of the self and separation in marriage) on the apartment and on the back cover's lower border.

Page 1 of Executive Summary targeted towards potential investors for Bloqcube Inc, a pharma-tech start-up. Designed using Adobe Illustrator, with arrows from company logo to emphasize transition towards new software and to keep eyes moving across the page.

Watercolor pencil painting which incorporates elements from folk-art styles across India. Accepted for display at Sochi Winter Olympics exhibition in Citibank's office in Moscow, Russia. Included in printed booklet displaying artwork made by students at the Anglo-American School of Moscow. PIECE INFO: *Upper-right corner* contains peacock, dancer, trees in Warli style from west Indian state of Maharashtra. *Diagonal floral border* inspired by borders in Mughal paintings of Sita's kidnapping in the epic, "Ramayana." These paintings were commissioned by India's Mughal emperors and hence, Islamic styles of art, which highlight nature and geometry, became part of the epic's portrayal. *Left side* features leaves and a parrot. *Right side* is a woman wearing a bottu/bindi (mark of spiritual third eye) in the Bengali style. *At the bottom* is a chakra (discus/wheel), representing an Ashoka Chakra (symbol of Indian unity, featured on India's flag, named for Emperor Ashoka). Chakra also symbolizes cycles which guide Indian philosophies, such as Samsaara (cycle of reincarnation) in Hinduism and the Eight-Fold Path in Buddhism. Finally, the chakra is an ancient weapon used by gods in Hindu mythology.

Drawn with ink. Each dancer is based on reference photographs of traditional Chinese classical dance costumes and traditional Indian classical dance/music costumes (Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Carnatic). Motifs associated with each culture, including a parasol and a sitar, are included. Each figure's costume, makeup, hairstyle, and accessories is distinct. Figures are arranged and layered on the poster to show people sharing classical arts and cultural spaces with each other. Motifs of the moon and the stages of love, which was the showcase theme, is included to the bottom left (moon phases) and bottom right (small hearts). Symmetry and balance was achieved by keeping figures in parallel poses and parallel colors. Finally, the cursive script used for the description stands in contrast with the showcase information, title, and the dance clubs' names (Mei-Kala). A bold, curved script was used to match the curves and angles of the performers' bodies. See "Indo-Chinese Classical Dance" (2024) to see final version of this poster.

Drawn with ink. Figure on the left is a Hindu goddess, Sita Devi, daughter of the earth. Figure on the right is Sri Rama, the Hindu god of the epic "Ramayana." Here, in the Chitrakootha forest, we see Sita playfully stealing Rama's quiver of arrows and twirling one arrow out of Rama's grasp. Rama holds Sita's waist and shoulders his bow. Intricate linework shows the movement of the arrow, leaves and flowers stitched into Sita's skirt, jewelry, and crown, and lotus flowers in Rama's pants. He wears a thread and prayer beads around his body, and the fabric tied around his waist shows his sweeping movement towards Sita. The marks of divinity are on Sita and Rama's foreheads; they are surrounded with halos and hearts. Thicker lines outline key features of their bodies, and their hair is elaborately styled. The thin, simple bowstring is meant to contrast with the details of their garments. Their feet and faces are drawn stylistically, to show loving gazes and surreal beauty.

Drawn with ink. This piece depicts the five-headed, ten-armed form of Karthikeya, the Hindu god of war. His vehicle is a peacock which bites a snake, representing the triumph of good over evil. He carries different weapons in his hands, including: a sword, a trident, an arrow, a bow, a shield, and a noose. In his third arm on the right, he carries a rooster, which is his symbol. Each of his foreheads is marked with the symbol of his father, Shiva, and each of his heads are tilted in a different direction. A halo glow fits around in body in a circle. His chest is adorned with jewelry and his pants are drawn stylistically to show their draping. His first and second hands are facing forward to bless the onlooker. This piece is inspired by Raja Ravi Varma, the Indian painter who often chose mythological figures as his subjects. There is intense detailing in the crown and in the hands, as well as the attention to maintaining general symmetry in the arms and heads. The style of the peacock is inspired by Russian Orthodox icons. Note: the number of heads and arms is symbolic for deities in Hinduism, and the artist wanted to challenge herself with this piece, hence the outcome!

CUSTOMER REVIEW: "Excellent, much more vivid [than company's previous pitchdeck].” Pitchdeck for potential investors, designed using Google Slides, for Bloqcube Inc., a pharma-tech start-up. Integrated logo by breaking cube into bars with arrow motif to represent forward-thinking solutions and the secure movement of patient data via blockchain. Created patterns from logo to fill space when needed.

Freehand portrait of Telugu film actress, Sai Pallavi. Illustration, made with Adobe Illustrator, is of a close-up from "Shyam Singha Roy (2021)." Sai Pallavi portrays a devadasi, or hereditary practitioner of classical dance, who yearns to be with her beloved Shyam. This portrait aims to capture the character, so very young and yet so very old, gazing into the distance. Hence, her hair is partially black and partially implied to be white via frazzled strands and empty space. The medium is meant to mimic traditional ballpoint pen sketches while utilizing patchwork to create dimension and flow in facial features.

Created using Adobe Illustrator during Visual Design & Digital Making Virtual Summer Intensive, co-sponsored with LITS at Bryn Mawr College. The aim of the piece was to create a logo to represent Bryn Mawr College's annual tradition of Lantern Night. Hence, the college's color scheme of navy with canary and butter yellow. A curvaceous script was drawn to bring a sense of whimsy, in line with the enchantment of lanterns aglow in the dark. Open hands show the acceptance of light and knowledge. The design of the hands was broken up to highlight the palms and fingertips, and the dispersion of light particles is shown with the circles.