CHENNAI: It was an injury and the subsequent bed rest that led Lavanya Varadhan to start exploring the art of zentangle. She later mastered it, and today, runs Hastkrit, her venture. “When I was on bed rest for six weeks, I was bored of doing nothing. And that is when I read about zentangle and got into zentangle-inspired art,” she smiles. “It relaxes you and makes you think of nothing else but the art itself.”
Lavanya was so inspired by this quirky art form that she began looking around for somebody who could teach her more. That’s when she realised not many people in the city even know about it. “I began reading more articles online and learnt that you cannot teach this unless you are a certified teacher. I was looking for a certified teacher and after pursuing the art for a year, I got one. It was an enriching experience. It was only after the class that I learnt the nuances of why and how the art is done” she recalls.
In June 2016, Lavanya started a Facebook page and that was how Hastkrit was born. Hastkrit she explains is a Sanskrit word — hast means hand and krit means creation. And since its inception, she has been making products ranging from coasters and magnets to notebooks and envelopes, all of which has zentangle-inspired art, hand drawn by her. “Zentangle art is usually done on a 3.5 inch card, my work is inspired by zentangle art and therefore I decided to create bigger versions of it and make different products.”
A hobby that started out of boredom and curiosity soon developed into a passion and now, a profession. However, the motive behind her venture is definitely a valid reason for one to purchase from her. “The money I generate from this is spent towards education of the girl child. That was my main idea, in addition to creating awareness about the art itself,” she smiles.
Lavanya also opines that there are not many people in the city that appreciate the art and the effort. “Often, people are taken back when they learn that my products are priced higher than those available in the shops. But they don’t think about the effort and time taken behind doing it — it is all handmade, I do every bit of it from scratch,” she avers.
The envelopes are sold at `150 for five pieces, the A5 notebooks for `250 and the coasters are `100 each.
For details, visit the page HastkritbyLavanya on FB