At an age where children inherit the family business, she is a one of the very few who took the path less trodden. She stood firm and took to following her passion for art. Intelligent, ambitious and gifted with a penchant for good design, no one understands the value of art and design as much as she does. Perhaps that is what pushed Aishwarya Pathy to co-create the India Design Forum for a cause that she passionately supports. In a candid interview, the daughter of one of the most influential families in South India opens up on her respect for art and the creators of it.
There are so many adjectives that can describe her, but nothing fits better than simple and humble. She is a delight to talk to and over the course of the conversation you realise there is a die-hard passion in her. Growing up in Coimbatore and Delhi, she remembers having a multi-cultural upbringing and perhaps that is what led her to become the person she has grown into. Right from her childhood, she had an inclination to the arts. “I have always been creative and loved exploring things; be it making a chair or sculpting. Everything about creating an original piece fascinated me,” says the lady, who fashioned an old window pane into a coffee table when she was a little girl. An education from Kodai International School and degree in literature from Boston, exposed her to the arts. Ask her why, she did not take up a degree in art she says, “I wasn’t ready to do a degree that was purely based in art and I was also passionate about fiction and poetry as much as art, so I took to studying English Literature.” But, Aishwarya affirms that she was always connected as she studied a bit of art history and kept following art and design everywhere she went.
And after moving to India, she realised the need to create a platform for artists and designers in the country. “Unlike in the West, we do not value art and design; there is no awareness about how difficult it is to create something from scratch,” adding to which she says, “I wanted to create awareness about the design scene in India where one could discuss the importance and relevance of design and also understand the value of it.” Thus was born the India Design Forum, which has already seen two conferences across the country with the third edition slated for March 6 and 7 in Mumbai. She says, “It feels terrific and challenging to be able to create something so exciting. We receive testimonials from people about how we have changed their lives through IDF, and that gives us the courage to go ahead with our vision.” Aishwarya is also launching COCCA – the Coimbatore Centre for Contemporary Arts about which she says, “The city has always been inclined towards education but lacked a good design school, so we are working in parallel to create one which offers the best design courses in the country.” She affirms that, there has been a rising interest among Indians to contribute to the art scene and that encourages young artists.
Even as an art collector, Aishwarya does not pick up pieces by names, “I do not go by labels – it is purely out of love for the art. I do not restrict myself to names or mediums either. If I love something and I am able to relate to the style, I pick it up,” adding that her favourite artists are Abhir Karmaker, Seher Shah, Alyssa Phoebus Mumtaz and Gigi Scaria. Apart from her busy life, which revolves around art and design, Aishwarya loves travelling to exotic destinations. “I love South America the most while I also enjoy Maldives as I enjoy scuba diving a lot,” says this mother of a four-year-old. Ask how she juggles her life between all of this and she brushes it away saying, “It is all about passion; you need to identify your passion, invest time and follow it. And when you do so, it becomes part of your life and is no longer a job.”
