Meet Riddhima Sen: A Visionary Painter and Author
Riddhima Sen is a gifted painter and an accomplished author known for her evocative storytelling and mesmerizing artwork. With a deep passion for creative expression, she has mastered the art of bringing emotions to life, both on canvas and through her words. Her latest book, Tranquil Waves, is a testament to her literary prowess, captivating readers with its depth and tranquility. Alongside her writing, Riddhima’s paintings exude a unique blend of realism and emotion, making her a distinguished figure in the world of art and literature.
Exclusive Questionnaire with Riddhima Sen
- What inspired you to write Tranquil Waves?
Answer when I was starting the book I wanted to write where I started from which was poetry. The inspiration of the book is mainly sea waves. Sea waves represent life itself. It has resonance with life as everyone has both good and bad times.
Nature reflects our life and how life shows as the path as people move ahead in this long journey of life
2.How would you describe your journey as an author and a painter?
Answer As an introvert i feel it more expressive and easy conveying by writing as compared to telling. People understand it better if we put it in words. I started writing when I was in class 11 and it was overwhelming and fulfilling. I started painting or drawing at the age of 5. Writing and painting are windows when people’s windows are closed. Also, these are therapeutic and it heals.
3.Do you see a connection between your paintings and your writing? How do they influence each other?
Answer: Yes there is a painting in addition to which I wrote a poem. I mostly write thrillers, recently I am writing short stories which is feminist in nature. Also there was a multimedia art I did based on women’s day which depicted every woman is strong. Writing and painting are connected and they influence each other. There is a thematic link between my writings and paintings
Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted the notable works depicting “falls”: “The Fall of the Rebel Angels” which is one of the examples which has deep meaning.
4.Which artists or authors have influenced your work the most?
Answer: I love Ruskin Bond since school. I am a big fan of Jhumpa Lahiri.Her writing style is very fluid and she inspires my writing too. The Namesake is Lahiri’s most famous work, but it is not her only one.
I am recently seeing the paintings of Amrita Shergil. Her paintings are very unique, having Indian themes and talk about women. So there is this painting where one woman sitting in the restroom and other women are sitting near her known as the Bride’s Toilet (fig 1). The painting depicts who is excited and nervous at the same time . Apart from her Pieter Bruegel inspires me and Claude Monet, A french painter his painting showed realism. Vincent Willem van Gogh for sure.
Fig 1- Bride’s Toilet- Credit wikipedia
5.What themes do you explore in your paintings and your stories?
Answer: My first book was based on poems inspired from nature and the recent book mostly deals with elements of sea and beach. The other book was a psychological thriller and it dealt with the idea of Identity. My themes are linked with Nature, Thriller and short stories dealing with childhood.
Some paintings of mine have different emotions, basically life has 2 sides like a coin where both bad and good days happen (fig ii). The other one I painted dealt with the idea of freedom (fig iii) and knowledge- as humans if we have knowledge we can have the whole world in our tiny hands (fig iv). The theme of my art work is mainly social and dichotomy of life & divinity.
6. What emotions do you hope to evoke in people through your art and books?
Answer: The idea of awareness about social issues, there was a poem I wrote “red letter” showing menstruation is very normal, breaking the stereotypes. Life has both roses and thorns. Apart from these two I want to evoke the emotion about realising how important childhood is.
7.Can you walk us through your creative process when painting or writing?
Answer:
Fig 2 
Fig iii
8.What has been the most challenging part of being both an author and an artist?
Answer: As a writer I can write daily but it’s difficult to paint daily. The biggest challenge is to divide the time equally for both. Time management with academics is a challenge
9.What message do you hope readers take away from Tranquil Waves?
Answer: People love beaches. Just like waves which follow the laws of nature, life also has a rhythm, people should leave certain things to nature and life because no one knows what life will give you. If one can connect to nature they can lessen the things disturbing nature , it can stop the harm caused to nature. People will value the environment. People should never give up.
10.What upcoming projects can we look forward to from you?
Answer: I am currently working on a handwritten book of poems, it’s a 25 days challenge – 25 days- 25 poems – based on 25 prompts.
