Archive

When Deolali-based Keshwar Kothawalla’s muralist father Pilton passed away in 2008 she "very quickly” stepped into his profession. She was then 19. Responding to queries from Parsiana about her enterprise of making murals and collages, Kothawalla Kreations, she narrated that her father had been making art works primarily for the defence services for 35 years in Deolali. He had "built up good contacts with the authorities in the cantonment… I built on that,” she told us on April 9, 2021.
Her metal and wood collages are environmentally friendly and use the techniques of embossing and wood singeing. Textural effects are provided by "Feviplas,” a technique that uses three chemical components. Each piece is custom made, noted Keshwar. Works executed for her private clients include farohars on wood, three-dimensional natural scenery and images of Lord Ganesh. In the 13 years since Pilton passed away, Keshwar, an alumna of Barnes School, has completed over 125 murals, largely for the defence authorities, she said. A 32 ft x 24 ft work depicting para gliders, tanks and planes hangs in the station headquarters in Mathura, she stated. "Our largest mural is 117 ft x 11ft,” she noted, adding that it hangs in a building in the National Defence Academy in Poona. Between the father and daughter they have created over 1,000 artworks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working out of a garage attached to her grandmother’s home, Keshwar stated that her support system consists of mother Bukhtawar and husband Khushroo Eduljee. The muralist can be contacted on keshwar.kothawalla@gmail.com or +91 9561794914.