JuiCY MEMORIES

A love letter to fruit, its colors, rituals and memories.

I have always been obsessed with fruit. As a child, and even now. The flavours, the textures, the way they're eaten, it's almost a ritual to sit and indulge.

Some of my strongest memories are of litchis, cherries, green almonds, falsa in the summer, and watermelon all day long.

Growing up in Delhi, my mum would buy fruit from the vendors outside our home. She would choose each one carefully, have them weighed, bargain a little, then come back with bags full. Everything was washed, stacked into baskets, and left out on the kitchen counter. Pure beauty.

I think those colours, forms, textures and patterns stayed with me. Somewhere subconsciously, they continue to find their way into my paintings.

I discovered jackfruit only a few years ago at my Telugu in-laws' home. This painting is inspired by it. Bulbous, juicy, smooth, and unapologetically rich.

And then there's the mango blossom.

One summer, I noticed how mangoes had quietly taken over my psyche. Life revolved around them. Their colours were impossible to ignore.

I began a painting, and somewhere along the way it became about the entire life cycle of a mango—from blossom to tiny raw greens, slowly turning pink, then orange, and finally a ripe yellow. Watching colour become a marker of growth, ripening and readiness was fascinating. Seeing that gradual shift unfold felt like watching time through colour.

No story, no telling, no problem.