Avahan- The Invitation

Āvahan begins in upāsanā, not in a studio. My days start before the canvas does — in nitya sādhanā under my Guru, Praveen Radhakrishnan Ji, within a Śākta-Śaiva lineage carried also through my family. What I paint is not designed. It is received in practice, and then given form.

What the work is:

Each painting — a Śrī Yantra, a form of Devī, the flow of Gaṅgā Mā — is approached the way a sādhaka approaches japa: with repetition, attention, and the understanding that the form is not decoration but a doorway. I am not illustrating mythology. I am painting what I meet in practice, in the language of Kashmir Śaivism and Śrīvidyā that I've studied and lived, not merely read.

What Āhvāna is becoming:

This is the early ground of something larger — a body of devotional work, a course for those who want to learn Śrī Yantra painting as their own sādhanā, and eventually, a retreat space in the mountains where art and practice can be held together, away from the noise. Right now, it is paintings, made slowly, offered to whoever they're meant to reach.

If a piece calls to you, it likely already knows why.