A Reflection on Hosting the Padav Art Mentoring Program 2025 at Kaaya Learning Centre
“In the silence of the hills, we often hear what the noise of the world drowns out — our truest selves.”
This past week at Kaaya, I witnessed that truth, again and again.
From June 17 to 22, our little world here in Tilwari was gently stirred by the presence of 24 emerging artists — participants of the Padav Art Mentoring Program 2025, a collaborative initiative between Kaaya and the Bangani Art Foundation.
While our land has hosted many gatherings over the years, this one felt different. Deeper. Aligned. Rooted.
✨ What Padav Brought Into Our Space
Padav, in its essence, is not just a mentoring program — it’s a pause with purpose. A space to catch one’s breath on the steep trek of becoming. For one whole week, our studios, trees, and trails held the quiet intensity of brushes in motion, of self-doubt unraveling, of questions being born, and of stories being re-stitched into canvases.
Everywhere I turned, I saw something quietly beautiful:
– An artist sitting alone on the stone ledge, sketchbook on lap, eyes scanning the forest canopy.
– A group huddled under the mango tree in post-session reflections.
– The clink of tea glasses, the hum of late-night discussions in the cafeteria, and the comforting rhythm of artists stretching their own canvases — some for the first time.
👣 Mentors Who Taught by Being
Padav would not be what it is without the wisdom and generosity of Jagmohan Bangani and Poonam Sharma. Watching them guide, question, nudge, and simply listen was an education in itself. This year, we also had Himanshu Trivedi, with his eyes set on camera len but heart is one with the fellow artists.
They brought more than knowledge — they brought their journeys. Insights. Their vulnerabilities. Their refusal to offer ready-made formulas, and instead, their belief in each fellow’s own evolving path.
As a host, it was humbling to see how Kaaya’s energy — earthy, slow, raw — responded to their grounded presence.
🪶 For the Artists Who Came With Open Hearts
To the 20 new fellows and 4 core artists: thank you for choosing to arrive — not just physically, but emotionally.
You trusted a space you’d never seen, people you hadn’t met, and a process you couldn’t predict. You shared laughter, tears, unresolved questions, and bold beginnings. You brought color into our walls — and left something behind in return: your essence.
I hope you carry Kaaya with you in small ways — in your next painting, your next pause, your next doubt.
🌱 Why Kaaya Exists
When I left my life in development consulting and founded Kaaya in 2011, it was with one quiet question: Can we create a place where people reconnect — with nature, with each other, and with themselves?
Programs like Padav reaffirm the answer.
Kaaya isn’t a venue. It’s a living ecosystem — a slow space in a fast world. A place where time doesn’t rush, ideas don’t compete, and art isn’t packaged — it’s allowed to emerge.
🎨 Until the Next Padav…
As the exhibition came to a close on Sunday evening, and we watched visitors witness the fellows’ work — some proud, some still unsure — I felt a deep gratitude.
Not for a job well done, but for a space well held.
Padav will return. And whenever it does, Kaaya will be waiting — with open skies, open courtyards, and open arms.
By- Santosh on 22/06/2025
