“Follow your bliss, and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell

Some call it instinct, others call it destiny. But for those who truly follow, a calling is impossible to ignore. It whispers, nudges, and eventually roars—demanding to be answered. This is the story of a woman who once lived in the world of numbers and balance sheets, eventually discovering that her true equilibrium lay in ink, strokes, and urban stories. Challenging the binary that what lies within planned spaces like cities is structured and formal, while what exists outside is abstract and unbound, she is building bridges between worlds—worlds of tamed forms, practiced and perfected over generations in traditional folk arts, and the untamed elements she grew up with, raw and unrestrained, waiting to find their place on the canvas. By weaving the two together, she is opening doors in what looks like walls.

Trading Numbers for Narratives

The founder and creative genius behind Urban Artista is Sharmistha Roychowdhury, a woman whose journey defies conventional expectations. With over 20 years of experience in banking, Sharmistha had climbed the corporate ladder, managing several branches as a head. She had found success, but as the years passed, the very structure she had once thrived began to feel inadequate. When an opportunity arose for yet another promotion, she could not see herself in the new role anymore. The same role, the same hierarchy no longer sparked the same passion she had before.

Art had always been a quiet undercurrent in her life, a thread woven through her existence. It wasn’t a career, but it was an element of herself that she never fully left behind. And so, when the corporate world no longer felt like her path, Sharmistha knew it was time to respond wholeheartedly to that primitive calling.

Was it easy? You wish! After spending almost two decades in banking, a world of structures, figures, and predictability, shedding that identity wasn’t simple. To step away from this identity—one that was so ingrained in her daily routine was an enormous leap. But the courage to leave behind the safety of numbers and step into the almost unknown came from a deeper place.

Like one true creative soul, Sharmistha listened to the inner voice that told her that her life could hold more than the boundaries of a structured career.

With the savings she had accumulated over those years, she put her heart, and soul into something that truly mattered and of course catered to her: she founded Urban Artista, her very own art studio in the heart of Kolkata.

Ink, Identity, and Inspiration: Reimagining Madhubani for the Urban Eye

Madhubani art, also known as Mithila painting, is a traditional art form originating from the Mithila region of Bihar and Nepal. Although the exact time of commencement of this art form remains a subject of debate among scholars and historians, its origins are often traced back to the era of the Ramayana. It says King Janaka, the father of Sita, commissioned artists to paint the walls of his palace in preparation for his daughter’s wedding depicting elements of mythology and religious stories, gradually becoming an integral part of the wedding decor in the Mithila region.

Initially, Madhubani paintings were created on freshly plastered mud walls in rural homes, with natural pigments made from plant extracts and minerals. These vibrant and intricate works of art served not only as aesthetic decorations but also as strong visual storytelling media

In the 1960s, Madhubani artists began using canvas and paper, allowing the art to reach a wider audience and recognition. This shift can be said to mark the beginning of Madhubani’s commercialization and its eventual global recognition.

Sharmistha has a deep appreciation for the intricacies of Madhubani art, combined with her background in natural sciences, which made her explore the detailed drawings and elements of nature inherent in this art form. While Madhubani is traditionally characterized by vibrant colours, a particular style known as Kachni, is distinguished by its fine line work and monochromatic palette. This style focuses on intricate patterns and detailed line work without the use of colour, showcasing the artist’s skill in creating depth and texture through lines alone.

The Kachni style resonates with Sharmistha’s take on Madhubani. As Sharmistha began spending more time with Madhubani, she discovered that the traditional motifs and elements, though intricate and beautiful, did not fully speak her heart out. The themes of mythology, the divine incarnations of Lord Vishnu, and the everyday depictions of nature, though still meaningful, felt sort of distant from her lived experiences. And that pushed her to bring something more into her Madhubani, something that reflected her existence on her Madhubani canvas.

While she continued with elements like the Dasavataras (the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) and other mythological characters, it was needed to reflect her urban upbringing and her life as a woman shaped by a city that has had always a unique rhythm of its own. She had grown up in the heart of Kolkata, a city that inhales diversity and exhales monotony—a place where the fusion of cultures, traditions, and ideologies creates a constant ebb and flow of new energy. In a city where the old and new coexist, Sharmistha allowed the subtle whispers of tradition, but she inevitably responded to the loud call of modernity, and she believes that her art needed to speak both languages.

Her inspiration came from all around her. From the iconic self-portraits of Frida Kahlo, whose own legacy of blending personal pain and cultural pride influenced Sharmistha, to the chameleon, the wonderful creature that can blend into any environment. Her inclination to the natural world from her academic years, the incorrigible energy of her city streets, the people she sees every day—became her muses. As she began to infuse these elements into her art, a new, hybrid, and of course urban form of Madhubani began to emerge—one that resonated with her spirit, her urban taste and sensibility, and her genuine respect for tradition.

Sharmistha’s creations are a marriage of the delicate, intricate forms of Madhubani with the bold, diverse textures of urban existence. She paints on wooden blocks and acrylic bases, using ink as her primary medium—each stroke speaking of a life lived among several worlds. The results are fresh interpretations of Madhubani which you would very much love to be a part of your living space, your office, your favourite wall in any room, or even an open space.

The terms untrained and untamed fit perfectly to her journey as an artist, an entrepreneur, and a visionary. While she has always been an artist at heart, she never received formal training in art, and yet, it was this very lack of conventional schooling that allowed her to stick to her unique style, free from the constraints of formal techniques or prescribed methods showing that being untrained is rather a kind of liberation.

Untamed is what describes Sharmistha’s character. After two decades in the corporate world, where every step was meticulously planned, Sharmistha broke free and allowed her wild, creative spirit to speak. She chose not to conform to societal expectations or the conventional paths laid out for her. Thus untamed represents her fearlessness toward taking risks, charting her own course, and staying true to her personal vision.

For her, the future is about creating a space where people can see their unique selves reflected in art, commerce, and everyday life. Her vision for the future is one where interdisciplinarity is at the heart of creation—where art is beyond galleries, and business, beyond profit. Her vision of the future comes with purpose and social impact. Inclusivity is key in this vision.

Through Urban Artista and Red Ochre India, Sharmistha is not only creating products or pieces of art, but also building a platform for self-expression, inclusivity, and empowerment. She’s exemplifying the possibility to break free from the molds society tries to impose and instead forge a path that speaks to one’s truth. This vision, rooted in authenticity and boldness, invites others to join the journey—to embrace their own untrained, untamed selves and to forge their own paths, no matter where life takes them.