Kalighat Connection: In conversation with artist Dithi Mukherjee

A two-day workshop on paper sculpting that Geneva-based nutritionist and artist Dithi Mukherjee attended in Kolkata's Nirupam Academy this May opened her up to the possibilities of combining three-dimensional forms with art influenced by the traditional Bengal school of the 19th century.

Yet, the 35-year-painter believes that "art is not something that is radically new, but a spiritual outpouring of a soul-searching evolution" of her journey as a woman who has lived in two very distinct cultures – the tradition-bound India and modern Switzerand.

The move to Geneva in 2007 following her husband's new job was a difficult one for the clinical nutritionist, who had spent a couple of years working at one of Mumbai's prominent private hospitals. An identity crisis and a compelling need for soul searching led her to introspect through visual journaling. Dithi, which means drishti or vision, decided to go back to her first love — of expressing herself through her paintings. "It is through this vision that I'm living my dreams and taking life as it comes.When I did my first painting in 2009, it was my bridge to India," says Dithi.

With her first blog, prominent art bloggers, fascinated by her style, supported and promoted her extensively. That led to her first commission, in the same year, of a figurative interpretation of Lalita Sundari — one of the many incarnations of Durga, ordered by a US-based Indian writer. In order to sustain her artwork in an expensive city, she started listing smaller canvases online so she could earn to pay for her paints and crayons.

By the time she returned to Kolkata in 2013, Dithi had earned a reputation. The turning point was when she started training in printmaking at a studio at Kalighat, Kolkata's spiritual cradle. Kalighat, a seat of the divine feminine Kali, became her territory, her hunting ground. Dithi attributes her influences to the three years of daily visits to the printmaking studio of master printmaker Ramendra Nath Kastha.

Dithi is convinced that Kalighat, Kastha's studio Gravura and the entire neighbourhood reverberates with an undeniable energy that has seeped effortlessly into her work. "The sights and sounds stole my soul. The red of the vermillion, the alta (a red dye that women apply on their feet), Maa's bangles and hibiscus, the conch shells blowing incessantly, the incense and camphor, all make for a magical and riveting setting. I am in sync with this city for the palette it offers. The divine feminine is at the core of my soul," emphasises Dithi.

Apart from printmaking, woodcuts, linoleum relief work, lithography and etching, her primary medium has been acrylics, though of late, she's has discovered the joy of working with water colours. She also learnt paper sculpting from Anupam Chakraborty and saw great possibilities with this versatile medium. "I built paper hibiscus from pulp, moulding and sculpting the paper, which was a great playing ground," enthuses Dithi.

For the most part of the last two years, she had been working on two large pieces commissioned by a US-based collector. A big moment for Dithi was when eminent blogger Archana Srinivas commissioned her to do a portrait set in old Bengal. Her collectors include writers, musicians and aspiring Baul minstrels. "My work stems from a place deep inside me and it reaches out to a place deep inside you. People may call it mystical, eclectic and soulful, but I don't want to bind it with a name. Let me call it a flow."