1. SUSHNESSLIGHTS – If all goes well, a new brand
name of canvas on lamps will soon hit the market in
Oman.
Colours and canvas are a weakness for Sushmita
Gupta, who also runs ClassApart for children in
Muscat. Her idea to replicate some of her paintings
on lamps was born out of creativity. It was a new
passion for making effective use of lamps to
enhance living places at low cost that has given
wings to her talents.
Entering a new realm is exciting and at times
risky too. But, it was her enthusiasm to explore and
experience the joy of having canvas on lamps.
Sushmita says she has been dabbling with
lighting for quite some time. “Lighting makes all the
difference. That’s my thought and I apply them to
almost anything and it works. This can be from
home decor to even ones’ own thoughts.”
How is it made possible?
Sushmita says throwing light on happy thoughts
keeps her happy. Similarly lighting up kindness in
the soul makes her non-judgmental about people
around her.
However, when it comes to homes, simple rooms
take on a classy look and ultra-luxurious ones look
warm and inviting with the help of correct lighting.
Her love of lamps and her stress on lighting is quite
obvious for anybody who steps into her home at Al
Azaiba.
For Sushmita’s countless number of friends who
know her well, it is her passion of for painting which
has emboldened her to take the next step. “I love
playing with colours on almost any surface. Canvas
being the most used by me, I have painted on saris,
earthen pots, walls, cupboards, cowrie shells and
stones too.”
It was only a few months back that she hit upon
the idea of combining paintings and lighting. At first
few lamps were created on an experimental basis
with the idea of further refining them.
This she explains was an adventure of sorts which
took her to places she had never visited earlier in
Kolkata, India. A small shop, with more depth than
width on a busy street was where she landed after
Liju Cherian
When it comes to homes, simple rooms take on a classy look and ultra-luxurious ones
look warm and inviting with the help of correct lighting. Susmita’s love of lamps and
lighting is quite obvious for anybody who steps into her home
25March 17, 2016March 17, 201624
Glow of warmth
through lighting
ArtArt
Glow of warmth
through lighting
Sushmita with a folk painting
on the wall done on a mirror

2. knocking on various doors and on a shop run by
generations of lamp shade makers. They claimed to
make the frames and did the fitting of the cloth or
paper as was the case on the metal skeleton. This
felt like a start.
The next step was to get some of her art printed
on paper and canvas which was no challenge at
all. Just a few months before this ‘adventure’, her
poetry book along with two other friends from India
were released in May last year.
The multilingual triangulam book is a compilation
of poems written by Rajib Chakraborty (in Bengali),
Susmita Basu Majumdar (in Hindi) and Sushmita
Gupta (in English). The book, a cultural kaleidoscope
is printed by extremely talented people, a father and
daughter duo of the famous ‘Frame House’ fame.
Both Bimal and Suchona Samanta are unassuming,
friendly and extremely gifted.
Suchona was trained at Rabindranath Tagore’s
School at Shantiniketan who took on with interest
and worked tirelessly with Sushmita to transfer the
right sizes of her paintings on textured paper and
on canvas. The prints were handed over to the lamp
makers after which she suffered from an extreme
sense of excitement in anticipation of the finished
products.
Finally when it came through, Sushmita was not
disappointed. “My babies looked fantastic. They
looked extremely exotic and special,” she points
gleefully.
Lamp lighting has been in her blood for quite
some time.
She reminisces that right from the start of her life
Udayan, her husband, they were high on enthusiasm,
but though low on funds, on this idea.
“Aesthetic living was always on the cards, something
which I inherited from my mom Sujata Gupta. That’s
when I stumbled upon the use of lamps to enhance
living places at low cost,” she says.
Sushmita admits that the effects of lamps and
candles are universal. They always can uplift one’s
moods and spirits. “Soft lighting calms minds and
brings in tenderness of thoughts. It makes music
which also sounds better to me.”
Painting and lighting are not a new
thought at all, she mentions. She has
come across folk art on lamps but not
works of artist’s on lamps before.
In one of the folk paintings done of
the wall has a mirror attached to it. In a
new concept, the small mirrors deflect
light too. While others having paintings
and flowers, she uses light in strategic
places as well as diffused lighting mainly
not to overwhelm a viewer. Those with
the painting, she deliberately uses that
to convert into a lamp and named it
‘Moonrise.’
She admits that it is a challenge of sorts
to install lamps at home because of lack
of plug points. In some cases she enlists
support from electricians who come
with casings and complete the job neatly.
But who really inspired to take this up?
It was her own enthusiasm, she reveals.
Once she expressed the idea to her
mom who really loved it. Not just for this
work but for each and every other she
takes up, her mom encourages her the
most.
Her first thoughts on seeing her ideas
being realized was one of the best
feelings she ever had which was way
beyond satisfaction.
Sushmita has done few art related to
Oman and one of the lamps she already
made carries the print of ‘Three Girls.’
Many of her paintings carry a strong
local flavour. In fact two of the sample
lamp pieces show some influence.
While some of her new paintings are
ready it takes as long as the workman
completes his assigned task. For a set of
lamps of various sizes it took them about
three weeks. She however thinks that if
one worked dedicatedly for her, it would
take less time.
As for the future, it is Sushmita’s dream
to have a label all of her own and to be
able to begin production and is serious
on this. Names like Sushnesslights,
Sushnesslightsup or LightsofSushness have
been visualized as labels, admitting that that
it will have name of Sushness for sure.
“Soft lighting calms
minds and brings in
tenderness of thoughts.
It makes music which also
sounds better to me.”
— Sushmita Gupta
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ArtArt