“Adi-Katha” (Unspoken Tale)

(2020 – 2022)

Handmade Paper with Rice Straw Pulp, Sugarcane pulp, Mud, Tea, Natural Colour, Pen, wood, and a Peephole

During the pandemic, I spent long hours inside empty rooms, surrounded by blank walls and peeling lime, feeling the quiet and the void. It made me think of ancient caves, where early humans left marks and signs—a kind of language beyond words. I wanted to explore that instinct to communicate, even in isolation.

I began collecting natural materials from home—rice straw, sugarcane pulp, mud, tea—and used them to create 32 signs. Each one is made by hand, drawn and shaped from memory and imagination rather than exact forms. The shapes stretch and bend, moving away from their natural structures, letting the imagination take the lead.

The signs were arranged inside a wooden box scaled to my room, with a small peephole for viewers to look through. Peering inside becomes a quiet moment of reflection, a way to experience solitude, curiosity, and thought—an invitation to step into the mind of someone navigating isolation.

Adi-Katha is my way of connecting the past and the present: the ancient urge to leave a trace, to tell a story, and our modern need to reflect, imagine, and reach out, even when the world feels still.