Artist Raja Ravi Varma's great-great granddaughter Radhika Varma Hormusjee

Woman unbound

Artist Raja Ravi Varma's great-great granddaughter Radhika Varma Hormusjee paints women stepping out of their comfort zone

He was one of the legendary painters India ever had. His muses verged on ethereality on his canvases. Raja Ravi Varma still remains a name to reckon with. And being an artist and coming from his family immediately evokes curiosity. Raja Ravi's great-great granddaughter Radhika Varma Hormusjee, however, has created a niche of her own. The artist, who is readying to exhibit her paintings in town, says, "My grandfather's paintings had women and so do mine. But the entity, colour, form, composition of my work is very different. I never wanted to replicate him, but having looked at his work all my life, his works have acted as my inspiration." Painting, says Radhika, came naturally to her. Having been in the midst of a family of artists, it was about a natural choice to take a liking to painting. She grew up watching her mother paint and didn't think her talent was special till she took it up seriously after finishing her high school. "A casual visit to a bird sanctuary one day drew me to the world of birds, which continue to inspire me. Cranes and swans filled my sketchbooks, soon to be transformed into works that captured them in different medium," Radhika recalls, adding that she is equally inspired by nature. While Raja Ravi's portrayal of women could be interpreted in mythological contexts, Radhika reached out to communicate feelings of belonging and attachment in connection to the female form. Her series, 'Woman in Nature', emerged from the existential quest of what is real and what is not. "In my paintings, the woman moved out of her comfort zone to explore the world around her, finding new relationships and establishing wider connections. The ground beneath her feet no longer pulled her down. She could finally rise above her physical limitations… and joyfully transcend," the artist concludes.