“In my free time, I make dragons.” Dragons? Sruthakeerthi Mohan Ram pauses thoughtfully.
“There are all kinds. Good dragons, evil dragons… so,it’s quite challenging.” She adds with a laugh. “Then,there’s Darth Vader. Star Wars fans are always ordering versions of Darth Vader.”
Darth Vader may be marginally less intimidating in paper, but he’s probably just as complex. Modern origami, after all, is a challenging, competitive art today. Forget the paper boats of your youth; now, it’s all about interpreting movies, pop culture and art in paper.
“There’s a small but growing market for it too,” says Sruthakeerthi, explaining why she launched her start-up Simply Square in Chennai six months ago.
“I think the interest was always there; I used to do origami when I was really young.”
By the time she was in Class IV, she had graduated from pin wheels to paper swans. Then,she forgot all about it, till she found herself participating in a competition in college last year.
“I was doing a course on Advertising and Design. We were challenged to build a Ganesha from scratch —this was just before Ganesh Chaturthi. I was heading my team and this idea just struck me — an origami Ganesha. I googled it and found a complex design by Kamlesh Gandhi that had been featured in the Origami Worldwide magazine. Everyone was impressed by our entry because they had never seen something like that before. We won the third place!”
Sruthakeerthi now makes a wide collection of products, including mobile covers, book marks, and card holders. “When I graduated, I didn’t want a 9-to-5 job. I decided e-commerce is the way to go. The origami Ganesha rekindled my passion for art; so, I experimented with making customised rakhis. I did rakhis with origami interpretations of the batman logo. My friends loved them. That’s when I decided I should start doing this full-time.”
Sruthakeerthi began by selling her products though Facebook.
“People were apprehensive at first because of the material. But I spray it with acrylic so it is waterproof and dustproof. It’s also long-lasting. I made a multicoloured bangle in August 2014, and I’m still wearing it.”
She says customers are intrigued with her products, because, with origami, the designs are unique. “I mainly use coloured and handmade paper. Now, I’m experimenting with starched cloth for creating origami wallets and key chains, so they don’t get crushed when used.”
Though the craft seems simple on the surface, it’s challenging to master techniques. “It can take anything from two minutes to two hours to make something, based on the complexity of the design,” says Sruthakeerthi. “A Ganesha with a lotus, umbrella and mouse can take more than two hours, while a mobile stand takes just take minutes.”
Realising that kids love experimenting with the craft, she took classes in summer, and is now planning workshops in the upcoming months.
“I have got calls from colleges, asking me to teach; also from homemakers who just want to learn the art.”
When she has time to spare, she watches YouTube, and learns how to make those dragons, as well as a slew of super heroes.
“I’m working on a version of Batman now. If it sells, it sells. Otherwise, I just see it as good practice.”
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