Hyderabadi girl showcases her talent in art exhibition

The Divine Symbol Exhibition brings together a visual representation of Hindu tradition. The exhibition features young talent from Hyderabad, Navya Agarwal of 17 years of age, and her unique approach to Mandalas, depicting variety of spiritual symbolism. Navya draws deep inspiration from traditional practices, rituals, and religious stories. Her artworks are an attempt to connect with the collective consciousness of the people through symbols and stories that have been passed down by our ancestors. She believes that the creation of Mandalas, with its intricate patterns and symmetry, has many benefits including meditation and relaxation.

The exhibition is open to the public and will be on display from 25th to 30th November at ICON Art Gallery, Banjara Hills Road No. 12 ,from 11 am to 7 pm.

Speaking about her journey, Navya says, "I always had keen interest in painting throughout going years and later developed in lockdown. My mother Pooja Agarwal was my true inspiration as she has been also practising art from her childhood and my grandfather Prem Chand Gupta has played a keen role in developing my interest. He is the person who encouraged to follow my passion. In future, I will be perusing interior designing as I am quiet inspired by my dad's work who is interior designer by passion."

"From an early age, I was quiet interested in art and practiced basic drawing from the age of 5. During the lockdown phase I started practicing art and exploring different medium at a daily basis. Spending time with myself made me realise that art was like a stress buster and as I spent more time with exploring mediums. I realised that mandals worked as a medium of communication to express my ideas and belives," she added.

Speaking about her work, Navya said, "My pieces are based on spiritual themes and have got their inspiration from spiritual stories which have been passed on to me from my family. The pieces I make are inspired by the spiritual events of life and my perspective towards these events. For example my peice 'Omkara', it is a piece consisting of Ganesha and spiritual symbol OM, that is inspired by the other name of Ganesha , 'Omkara' is inspired by a story which was narrated to me by my grand mothers.

Speaking about her routine life, Navya says, "Being in 12th grade, my routine is a little hectic as I am currently preparing for boards. I practice art in my leisure time after school hours or at night after my studies.

Navya says that her connection with Hyderabad is quite deep as she is born and brought up here. "I have been living in Hyderabad from past 16 years and I admire it for it classical beauty like Golconda Fort and Charminar. The culture of Hyderabad has a significant influence on my paintings," she concluded.