Divine creativity

A mug of steaming cocoa (or a glass of red if it's been a tiring week) in one hand and a bright colour pencil in the other is our idea of an ideal Sunday afternoon. In our quest to achieve this, we've picked one too many colouring books and stationery.

Though most pages of these titles remain uncoloured, one particular find that caught our eye was Gods & Goddesses of India by Bengaluru-based graphic artist Kanika Jain Gupta. This adult colouring book features intricate illustrations of Hindu deities including Shiva, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Brahma, Matsya and others. Each illustration comes with a brief introduction to the deity and the roles they play in the functioning of the cosmos.

"Over the years, I have seen my mother write holy chants as a form of meditation and that prompted me to create something around our faith and beliefs. I felt traditional meditation and art therapy make for a powerful combination.

I have always been intrigued by the innumerable forms of God, and the opportunity to draw a 100 hands, multiple heads and add your own innovative touches to the illustrations is not something that comes by often. Being a visual artist, it's what I love about art. You can imagine something far from reality and bring it to life," says Gupta about the book. What appealed to us the most about the book was Gupta's non-traditional take on Indian godly illustrations.

Cost : Rs.499
Log on to : amazon.in

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