My Story

Hi, I'm Varsha from Dharwad, a pretty little town at the edge of the beautiful Malnad region of North Karnataka.

I've been a creative for as long as I can remember. Whether it was rummaging through my mother’s never-ending stock of scrap cloth to practice embroidery on, drawing sketches on the backs of my notebooks instead of paying attention in class or even hand sewing my daughter’s first set of clothes while still in the hospital, the arts have been a constant partner of mine on my journey through life.
 

The Dharwad Mali (rain) is legendary. And true to my name, the monsoon is my favorite season. The thing is, in the monsoon, Dharwad goes green with a magical quality. and maybe its the smell of petrichor early in the morning, or the variety of mosses that show their face for just these few short months.. but something about this season just brings out the creative juices in me and I go crazy. I've been capturing the beautiful effects of the "Apratimpous" meaning, unparalleled rain in Marathi (Marathi being my other mother tongue), and could continue to do so till my body says "enough".

 A few years back though, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. That brought down my creative output drastically. Gone were the impromptu photo jaunts, the tree walks, the early morning gardening and composting, and those inspired bursts of sketching and painting.

Despite what my students would say about me having a young soul - and they would not be wrong- as I looked back on my life experiences at the ripe young age of 53, I realized that though disappointed to the verge of slipping into depression, I wasn't going to let something like my health give up on my lifelong companion. And so, gaining inspiration from the "Apratimpous" of Dharwad, I finally found solace in converting my pain into art. And along with the need to share the fruits of my labor with the world, Apratimpous.com was born!