Earth-n-Heaven

	Hindustan Times Sec 29 artist discovers beauty in self
-Rajkumari Tankha

She lives her life upto the brim. You can see it all over her home in Sector 29: stained glass painting, murals, painting of almost all varieties, leaf work, and mosaic. Amita Sachdeva can even turn even bread loaves into piece d’art.”One should follow one’s nature” is her advice.

Her pupils are from all over Noida. And this includes her car cleaner who is now a stained glass artist!

Yet the forty something mother of two has not had any formal training.”I loved art since early childhood. Though father has been a great source of help, the credit for what I am today in a way goes to my mother who always insisted that I never sit idle” says Amita.

“It was during school holidays that I learnt bonsai, vegetable carving, flower arrangement and a host of other things” she recalls

After graduating from LSR, Delhi she did B.Ed and taught in a school. But soon she found out that teaching English wasn’t her calling. “Give me a work at home any day. Going out of home and doing a job is not my cup of tea” says Amita

After her marriage in 1985,she left for Kerala with her husband, a chartered accountant. “I had enough time for myself. Tanjore paintings then strongly attracted me, and I learnt the art” she says.

“We came to Noida in 1993, and it was here I got a lot of appreciation from friends and neighbours” says Amita

Today she has 25 students. “My idea is not just to earn but teach the art and spread happiness. It is sad that that many art forms are dying because an artist would like to keep the intricacies a secret” she says.

Her happiest moment is “when I see my student doing well.” she says.

Prompted by her students, she participated first in the Blind School exhibition and then in the Inside Outside Mega Show. “I never worked for money but it did rain anyway.” she says

Her paintings adorn DPS (Noida), Kindercare (Punjabi Bagh) and Crossroads (restaurant at Hotel Arpit Palace in west Delhi)