CHENNAI: The young and cherubic Bala Tirupura Sundari, prosperous Mahalakshmi, and calm and composed Gayatri Devi. Goddesses of south India form the core theme of artist-cum-architect Akshayaa Selvaraj’s Toran Calendar 2020. Each artwork symbolises elegance and every goddess radiates an aura of feminine energy as we flip through the 12-page wall calendar.
The sheets of calendar celebrate the uniqueness of and love for goddesses. What started as a Navaratri series in September 2019 organically culminated in a full-fledged calendar. “Every feminine representation is special here. They have universal significance and inspire women with their bold characteristics. Durga Devi comes with the loudest roar, Saraswati Devi as the music of the universe and Mahakali as the fiery face of fear. I could sense divine energy pushing me to complete the project. I visited a few temples and observed the rituals performed for the goddess, researched information and came up with nine goddesses. Kanyakumari Devi, Samayapuram Maariamman and Andal were added later, when I decided to make it a calendar,” said Akshayaa.
This is her fourth calendar. Her first one was on Indian heritage (2016), second on mental health (2017) and third on characters inspired by director Mani Ratnam’s films (2018). “My calendars are multi-purpose, have space for jotting down notes, and individual parts can be used as decor elements,” said Akshayaa who wanted this year’s work to be sustainable, mindful and conscious.“I’ve also given some space for patrons to write about their plastic-free journey to keep themselves motivated.
This is my way of contributing to an eco-friendly society. The goddess art print can be cut later and framed. Overall, the designs can be used as bookmarks, craft or collage to unleash your creativity. The seed pencil can either be gifted or used. The toran can be used as a backdrop for photo frames,” said Akshayaa.
Even tiny bits and pieces of the calendar hold meaning and purpose. The calendar can be hung on the wall with a toran. These are made of upcycled cloth fabrics by women from Studio KSJ at Tilonia in Rajasthan. The sheets of the calendar are bound by a seed pencil sourced from Almitra Sustainables.
The packaging bags are made out of old newspaper by Abirami, an artisan based out of Tamil Nadu. Akshayaa wants to make art tangible through her functional and aesthetic calendar. The artist staunchly believes that handmade appeal is more special when compared to getting designs printed with digitisation. She hopes to work with more like-minded artists and grow collectively. The calendars can be shipped across the country within three or four days of order. She also caters to bulk orders from corporates.
To order
Akshayaa has received 12 orders so far. The calendars are priced at `850. For details, visit Instagram page: Akshayaa Selvaraj, or call: 9840767013