It has been an interesting month. NASA scientists discovered seven exo-planets orbiting a dwarf star, (the TRAPPIST-1 system) roughly forty light years away that are fairly similar to Earth in size, three of these are in the habitable zone, i.e. with a strong possibility of the existence of life. Back on ‘our’ planet we continue to loathe and discriminate as always, with a passion, continually finding new reasons to do so. How do we forget that we are part of this vast universe and the universe is within us, each one of us.
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Art & Deal gets back in orbit after the 100 issue completion. A valuable achievement in its own space. The second feather in our cap is the selection of Art&Deal Magazine for the prestigious Chanakya Award for National achievers for the year 2017underthe category Chanakya Juries Special Award.

We begin this issue with an interview of London based artist Rana Begum, Rajesh Punj discovers that light and colour are the fundamental basis of her work as she experiments with new forms and materials in her abstract/geometric creations. Also, veteran artist Gopi Gajwani talks about his recent solo show ‘Meditative Silence’ at the Shridharni Gallery in an interview with Preeti Kathuria.

Lina Vincent Sunish recollects her visit to the Varda studio fondly, her interactions with the Waswo and the thrill of being the subject of one of his works and thus,getting imbued in a collective history with the artist. Hema Iyer Ramani explores the musical journey of classical vocalist Aruna Sairam. Brought up by a musician mother she was exposed to classical music through early childhood and had the opportunity to learn from the best and evolve to her very own.

Phulkariis an alluring colourful folk tradition of Punjab, a style of embroidery done with silk threads on coarse hand woven cotton fabric. Geometrical patterns are usually embroidered on the Phulkaris. Worn by women all over Punjab during marriagesand various festive occasions. They were initially embroidered by the women for their own use and use of family members and were not for sale.Even today, this embroidery is done by women predominantly and the age-old art stays much in demand, thanks to Bollywood designers, adorning the leading ladies in this vibrant drapery.

Hope you enjoy the diverse plethora of art in this issue. Happy

reading!
Siddhartha Tagore