Extremely fond of football and a good student, besides being an artist to put up a solo exhibition at a tender age of eight, Sunayna Adlakha makes one wonder whether age and experience matter when it comes to art. From watercolours to acrylic, she blends and translates her imagination convincingly on the canvas, an indicator of a bright career ahead.

At the preview of her first exhibition ‘I look, I perceive, I paint’ at Alliance Francaise, Adlakha described painting as “my dream and my world”. A student of Sanskriti School, she forayed into the art world when she was just a three-and-half-year old with her abstract painting ‘Mother and Daughter’, that even her mother, Kim Adlakha could not understand at first viewing. The proud mother tells Metrolife, “I initially thought it was just some random geometrical shapes, but later she explained, ‘It’s you and me, Mumma’.”

According to Kim, they never taught her to hold a brush. But they realised their daughter had a liking for art. “At one of those random art and crafts classes meant to keep her busy, we gave her a canvas and she started painting.”

The parents soon realised what Sunayna was capable of doing, so to guide her properly, they took services of art teachers who introduced the little girl to nuances of this craft.

“I have been teaching her for the past two-and-a-half years. Her biggest quality is that she is able to grasp even the minute details. It’s the biggest achievement for a child of eight years. She has a lot of colour technique in both realistic and abstract art and that too is purely gifted,” Rajan Kumar, one of the art teachers tells Metrolife.

One of the works at the exhibition is Mishri and Me (2013). Elaborating on this work her father, Ranjan Adlakha, says “She draws a lot of Mishri, her dog, as they are companions and they share a lot of love and affection.” Being the only child, the Adlakha couple look forward to see their daughter perform better, without restricting her career choices. “We want her to do well in whatever she likes. This kind of exposure will motivate my daughter a lot,” says Ranjan, adding when he saw her sketches that she drew in 3D format, he discussed the idea of exhibition with his wife to boost her confidence.

Sunayna who paints her ‘inner landscape of emotions onto a canvas’, has created pieces like Melting Ice Box, Dawn Harmony, Dusk in the Desert, My Sky and her latest work, The Giant Wheel. Sounding confident and clear about her work, Sunayna said that when she starts drawing, she first draws whatever comes to her mind and then paints. “I like
watercolours more and shades that can be made,” she said, smilingly.

Her best friend, Kimaya Channa, who was also present at the exhibition, says “I feel so proud that she is my best friend.”