While music, dance and art have helped people relieve stress and anxiety, Mandala art,with its’ spherical designs is a new trend that many millenials are taking up to.Tamaarah Balachander, a city-based fashion designing student, talks to CE ahead of her workshop on Sunday about Mandala art therapy and the way it helps people
CHENNAI: A circle’s center with symmetric patterns, smeared and coated with colours that resonate one’s ‘inner-self’ and mood that’s a reflection of the famous Mandala art. At a time where millennials are reaching out to unconventional therapies to beat stress, depression and anxiety, Tamaarah Balachander, an artist and student of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), will be conducting a Mandala Art Therapy workshop along with Madcap on Sunday. Calling the art form symbolic and therapeutic, Tamaarah, walks us through her journey, benefits of the art and more….
Tamaarah knew she wanted to make a career out of art when she was just 11. “I don’t have an art background. But I was always into it. I was not good in academics and maths was certainly a problem,” quips Tamaarah, who dropped out of school in Class Nine. “Yes, you heard it right. Ninth grade! But I knew what I wanted to do. I told my parents I didn’t want to study and that my career wasn’t going to need geography, history or maths. I wanted to be creative and they understood…instead wasting money on school fees and me failing in subjects, I thought I should make the best out of what I was good at! And that’s what I did,” says the young artist, who landed her first job at 15 as a language course coordinator. The rest is history. Tamaarah started working in the fashion industry under designers like Tina Vincent and Chaitanya Rao. “I was part of a lot of fashion shows and ad campaigns including Joy Alukas and Bheemas Jewellery to name a few,” she says.
After exploring years of art, design and fashion, and finishing her school education (from an open university) to join NIFT, the young artist who is currently juggling college and several professional workshops in the city, talks about Mandala art. “Mandala is all about the process of completing the piece and not about the final outcome. But that can make you feel satisfied too!” shares Tamaarah. “The intricacy, the vivid colours and the symmetric patterns can ease your mind and help you unwind.”
Recalling how she was surprised to stumble upon a huge community that practices Mandala art, she narrates, “Back when I was taking a break, I was in Kerala and all I did was draw. That’s when I realised how great a medium social media is for art. I posted one of my art works with the hashtag Mandala and was surprised to see a community that follows this art. I was inspired by it,” she smiles.
From basic patters, using black pens and A4 sheets to progressing to textured paper, the possibilities in Mandala are aplenty. “My workshops are mostly for adults…to relieve them of their stress and give them a platform to channelise their thoughts. There needs to be a right amount of thinking process in your mind... but no overthinking,”she elucidates.
With a recent trend of people opting for ‘therapeutic adult colouring books’, she clarifies that this is unlike it. “Many find colouring books monotonous, I do too. But Mandala is more like building geometry in a certain framework and pouring your thoughts in a cohesive way. What you think comes out as patterns,” she opines.
Mandala art does not require to you to be great at drawing and Tamaarah says that it is more of free-styling. “In the workshop, I will be introducing the participants to basic patters, that instills patience, positivity and generates a lot of focus,” she adds.
Mandala art workshop will be held at IIT Research Park on May 7,from 11 am. For tickets, visit
in.explara.com or call 9176808449