Smt. Vandana Dayal’s Art: Creativity with Compassion

When the entire world was fretting over the pandemic and dreading its impacts on our lives, I decided to seek some positivity by featuring some of the creative ladies on Instagram in my blog. And, while I was busy enjoying all the virtual positivity and beauty I could lay my eyes on in the last 5-6 months, I had missed something equally creatively beautiful happening in my neighborhood…Well, ‘neighborhood’ seems too distant… I should be saying ‘Aangan ‘… जो अपनापन ‘आंगन ‘ शब्द मै है वो “neighborhood” मै कहाँ ? Yes, Aangan is the right word for a place (White Water Condo) with so many beautiful people.

One of these beautiful people is our adorable and affectionate Smt Vandana Dayal. Vandana Ji needs no introduction, as she is one of Singapore’s celebrity artists. I met her a year back at a Dasara Haldi Kumkum get together at White Water. I remember how affectionately she had seen to it that I have my prasad. For me, the connection was instant as we had so many commonalities…like we both are former educators from Bengaluru and our passion for painting. She is someone who connects with all age groups and makes everyone very comfortable from the word go and always the first one to extend a helping hand with her super cute smile.

As we connected more through other social media, I slowly got introduced to her paintings and her love for the art form. I am amazed by Vandana Ji’s versatility in terms of themes, techniques, styles, and zeal to experiment all along. Her paintings give me immense happiness and a sense of peace. Here are some of my favorites from her beautiful collection of paintings.

I particularly love her Kohbar Ghar paintings, which she regularly does. Thanks to her sustained efforts, such great indigenous art forms that are rooted in Indian culture are being revived and brought to the forefront. Sharing two of her Kohbar Ghar paintings here. There is a whole lot of explanation and beautiful reasoning attached to these intricate works of art.

Vandana Ji actively participates in most of the Singapore Art Exhibitions. She donates 50% of the sales proceeds to the Akshaya Patra Foundation and a host of other charities.

This post is long overdue as I had missed Vandana Ji’s messages. Anyways, better late than never…This happened during the early days of the pandemic and when Singapore went into phase 1 of complete closure. With everyone locked down at home, daddies and mommies working from home with the kiddos in toe, we all know how daunting and depressing the atmosphere was. In such uncertain times, our Vandanaji quietly initiated a wave of creativity and positivity by announcing her very innovative free online art classes. Very soon, folks at White Water forgot that they were in a depressing pandemic situation as the kids focused on creating beautiful art. The mums were super happy to have someone engage their kids for that one-hour online class. And, what a way to do that. Vandana Ji very innovatively created a course to suit the prevailing conditions- a true sign of a highly imaginative and creative teacher. She chose to teach Madhubani Art as it requires minimum art material and tools.

And the results are here to see… see how happy the kids are and how well they have utilized their time…Not just the kids, their mommies too joined-in to dabble in some color therapy…

This is how all the bacha company said thanks to their beloved Vandana teacher 👇…

Of course, the waves of creativity created at White Water have touched distant shores. The free online classes have grown to a community of art enthusiasts from all over the world. Vandana ji has taught more than 400 students during the last 5 months. In addition to Madhubani Paintings, she is also conducting free workshops for Mandala, dot, and bottle painting. This is not only a testament to Vandana Ji’s enthusiasm for the art form, but also for her ingenious creativity to create purpose and peace in crisis and generosity. Vandanaji during one of her online classes. Just look at the excitement and happiness….

For the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival, Vandana Ji is teaching Ganesh Ji drawing. For more information about the free online classes and Ganesh Chaturthi Festival special classes, you can reach Vandanaji through any of these social media channels…

Facebook page: Vandana’s Art

Instagram handle @vdayal63

So happy to share Vandana Ji’s art with you all, as it beautifully combines creativity and compassion…

Kalyani Sreedhar Kakade

All images published in this blog belong to Smt. Vandana Dayal and may not be replicated and reproduced without prior permission.

Text Copyright: This Adbhut life!