Ashita Ji

Speaking with Ashita Ji felt almost meditative in a way, to say the least. She is someone who has experienced immense loss so far; the loss of a partner due to a failed marriage, the loss of an unborn child and the loss of a parent. While she was telling me about each of these losses, I noticed something unique. There was a certain softness about the way Ashita Ji had endured all of her suffering. This same softness is what comes across beautifully in her art, more than her pain does.

Ashita Ji is no stranger to the wrath of mental disorders, as she had to provide care for her elder brother who had been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. She has faced many challenges in marital aspects as well. Her first marriage was rather short-lived as it ended soon after the first two months. A few years later, this was followed by an engagement which also had to be broken after two months due to irreconcilable disagreements between the families. She was diagnosed with Recurrent Depressive Disorder and severe anxiety during this period of her life. At this point in her story, I realised that she had a rare resilience since she decided to give marriage a third chance. But perhaps life had to cultivate even greater strengths in her. She disclosed that her current partner was also not ideal. Even though she is still with her current partner, their married life has not been pleasant. After this, she was put through a forced abortion, followed by a tough pregnancy through which she conceived her daughter. Her son was born a few years after that. While navigating through a challenging married life and parenting her two children, she lost her mother during the pandemic. Ashita Ji shared that the demise of her mother is a loss that she is still getting to terms with.

This was when the softness in her voice grew and she started telling me about her art, which was as essential art of her journey as was her pain and suffering. She had enrolled her daughter in some art classes for extra-curricular, and she decided to join her for one of the days. She learnt that along with an admirable resilience to endure adversities, she also had a natural flair for art. What makes her inclination to paint even more special is the fact that her mother was a painter herself. Ashita Ji created a beautifully meaningful experience out of her pursuit of painting, by saying that every time she paints she feels that she is connecting with her mother’s soul. The painting of the temple that she shared is associated with a fond memory from when she visited that temple with her mother. The vibrancy of the colours that Ashita Ji has used in her paintings (most of which have been sold) is a clear indicator of her conscious choice to battle through these losses and remain hopeful, for the sake of herself and her children. She believes that art healed her better than any medication could have. The calming softness that she possesses is expressed in her art, and that is exactly why speaking with her felt meditative.