How artist Swati Chandak Sharma documents the flowering trees near Aarey forest

Champak or sonchafa; Gulmohar; Copperpod; Jarul, the state flower of Maharashtra. Illustrations Courtesy/Swati Chandak; Artisans

Nature takes centre stage in watercolourist Swati Chandak Sharma's paintings. There is birth and decay. After the pandemic had subsided in the city, Sharma started noticing the recklessness with which pruning processes were being carried out in her neighbourhood near Aarey forest. "There was a mango tree in my neighbourhood which was pruned so badly, it died. The nests had fallen down; nobody looked after it," she recalls. She believes that there is a general lack of knowledge among the authorities who take on the task. Sometimes, the tools they carry are wrong; and on other occasions, proper techniques are lacking. "This was also when I started noticing a lot of birds in the trees and slowly educated myself. I'd use Google Lens to find out their names." She kept a small diary to document what she called ‘Birds of my Neighbourhood'.

The artworks depict flowering plants around Aarey forest. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

The series was well-received by friends and strangers alike. Sharma's diaries organically grew into archives of flowering and fruit trees. She remembers parents reaching out to her to share how their kids had begun engaging with the paintings. "Those are my favourite moments," she tells us. "I started moving out of my studio space for nature walks, and made friends with a lot of guards from old societies. There is a lot of local knowledge, which is not documented." She spotted jackfruit trees and cashew trees on her walks. Nature studies translated into paintings.

Swati Chandak Sharma and Radhi Parekh

Sharma realised that painting was becoming an important tool to make people look up and notice what was around them. With the current concretisation within the city, Sharma began to record the fading colours of Mumbai in her neighbourhood. Twenty of her paintings will now be exhibited for a week at the ARTISANS' Art Gallery in Kala Ghoda under the title Florescence. Radhi Parekh, founder-director of the gallery, acknowledges, "This is the first time that an artist of our times is documenting the fast-disappearing flowering trees of Mumbai with such sensitivity and depth through multi-layered watercolours. This takes time." She shares how Sharma slowed down to a point where the practice became meditative to her. This prompted Parekh to showcase her work. "Her art represents a call as it heightens the silent struggle for nature to survive the advance of our ever-expanding metropolis."

The show includes a tree-walk led by theatre-actor Sananda Mukhopadhyay on Sunday. Mukhopadhyay will intersperse her walk with a reading of excerpts from literature. A stand-out piece for viewers to look out for is the rare documentation of the delicate pink Jarul, the state flower of Maharashtra, "Radhi sees my paintings as art, but I think I'm just a medium. What comes from the heart reaches another heart," the artist concludes.

On August 30, 6 pm; September 1 to September 7, 11 am to 7 pm
At ARTISANS', Forbes Street, Rhythm House Lane, Kala Ghoda.
Free