Book Erudition..!!
Title: SUNFLOWERS
[Incredible Journeys of Epic Women Artists from India]
Author: Sujata Parashar
Pages: 188
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publication date: 21 February 2024
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About Author..!!
Sujata Parashar, a prolific author, social activist, trainer, and talk therapist, currently serves as Vice President of WICCI’s Arts Leadership Council (Delhi). She was a founding member of Empowering Minds and contributed to the Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) program. Her talk-therapy platform The Talk—it—Out—Express (TiOE), launched in 2019, promotes emotional health.
Sujata’s book on single parenting, ‘Going Solo: Raising Happy Kids’ is inspired by my own experience as a single parent living in Delhi, India. However, 50 other single parents have contributed to that guide. It’s the first and only book on single parenting in India and won a prestigious literary award in 2022. Now the book is being translated into Marathi by the same publisher. Books published by her, “In Pursuit of Infidelity”( Rupa, 2009) and “In Pursuit of Ecstasy” (Rupa, 2011) are still in circulation even after 15 and 13 years of publication
Book Description..!!
For a long time, women artists, particularly in India, did not have it easy.
So, what contributes to a woman artist’s success?
Is it grit, determination, or passion?
Sunflowers: Incredible Journeys of Epic Women Artists from India unveils unfiltered and untold success stories of twelve remarkable women artists. The book captures the hearts and minds of these female artists belonging to diverse fields such as theatre, visual arts, fashion, etc., and traces their artistic journeys through pivotal stages of their lives. Much like sunflowers, each artist blossoms amid adversities, demonstrating art as a rewarding career and challenging societal biases.
Through the real-life narratives, the book urges readers to view artists as creative nurturers of society. It explores personal themes like relationships, youthful aspirations, the choice between pursuing passion and academic education, the influence of family and friends, and the delicate balance between an artist’s life and societal roles like mother, daughter, partner, etc. These uplifting tales will not only inspire the young but also enlighten general readers while providing valuable insights for researchers in gender studies, sociology, popular culture, and more.
Book Prelude..!!
With enough books published under her name, the renowned therapist, social activist cum author came up with an extraordinary concept of introducing twelve pearls that were outstanding in their respective art forms. India is a land enriched with rich culture, heritage, and spesh artforms spread across its length and breadth.
My Nuances..!!
Art and Art Forms are reflections of countries’ elegance and hereditament. It’s a fact that we all should agree many of those forms are vanishing from the respective region/locality for ample reasons and one of those is the lack of torchbearers who can hand over to the future generations and lack of prospects to continue the legacy.
Book Endeavor..!!
“Sunflower” is a perfect medium that Sujatha chose to crusade about the twelve handpicked art forms and the eminent personnel considered to be mastery artists. Filtering out of 100+ entries and presenting us with the insightful journey of the artists who are women is a material of motivation for me.
Rather than providing as plain content, Sujatha presented the insights resonating with the sunflower nomenclature. Star Bud, Ray Floret, and Full Bloom are classified as dissections of their life events in an audacious attempt to reverberate their childhood, youth, and present stages respectively.
My Grasp..!!
With so much to learn, understand, adore, and appreciate the efforts of these artists, Sujatha is affluent in penning down minuscule details like struggles, challenges, growth mindset, overcoming failures, focus, turmoil, and many more to draw self-motivation ultimately and to become standout in exhibiting the individual artistic capabilities.
Book Accolades..!!
The author also rightfully pointed out the gender-based challenges and how these talented women artists overcome these challenges into a rewarding profession and become creative nurturers of society. Not to miss mentioning the enticing cover picture of the book blended with the color of a Sunflower and three picturesque women portraits that set a perfect gesticulation for Sujatha’s writings.
Quote(s)..!!
Here are a few quotes that I handpicked from twelve eminent artists presented in this book.
- “Art is telling an uninterrupted story on the canvas” –Pragya Jain
- “Pause is so important. In all my compositions, I need that silence, that pause” –Shilpika Bordoloi
- “It’s the kind of theatre that de-centers human beings from the center of the universe” –Choiti Ghosh.
Links & FootNote..!!
My Handle: Kiran_Kumar_Adharapuram
Author Handle: Sujata Parashar
You can also explore my works -> Here
My Non-Fiction Book Reviews -> Here
My Self-Help Book Reviews -> Here
