In a mandala of her own: How Amrutha went from civil engineering to drawing mandalas on just about anything 

If you ever get talking about mandalas with Amrutha Routhu, two words — perfection and symmetry — will find many mentions. It is these two tenants of this artform that she is most committed to. And even though mandalas, which is Sanskrit for 'circle', are an aid for relaxation and even meditation, over time, this 25-year-old has managed to maintain their trance-like quality while aiming for perfection. "I have always been kind of obsessed with perfection when it comes to this art," admits Amrutha, almost sheepishly. And now, thanks to the hours and hours she has poured into practice, she is sitting on the cusp of Insta stardom, she has over 9,816 followers on Instagram (at least that was the number when we went to print) and soon, will cross the revered 10k mark.

Amrutha Routhu | (Pic: Amrutha Routhu)

It was the pattern and intricacy that got the Vijayawada-born youngster, who was already dabbling with quilling back then in 2014, hooked onto mandalas. After patiently honing the craft, she started displaying her work at various exhibitions and even conducted five workshops. If you look at how she uses mandala patterns to draw wolves and owls, you'll know why these particular art pieces of hers sell like hotcakes at these exhibitions. Now, she ruling the roost when it comes to online workshops and is taking workshops every weekend. "I am on a break now though. It was getting hectic and I needed time off to come up with new concepts," says the youngster who works as a Software Engineer at Mitratech.
 

The most frequent indirect compliment she gets is that people have mistaken her art for digital art        

Currently, Amrutha is taking her experiments with mandalas to the next level by mixing it up with galaxy painting, which she learnt from her sister. And because she is a doodler and illustrator too, the sky's the limit for her. "I've always been interested in painting too and I am glad I found a way to merge mandalas and galaxy painting," shares the artist who pursued a Civil Engineering degree from VR Siddhartha Engineering College. Amrutha eventually wants to make more time for her art — apart from the nine hours on weekends and a couple of hours on weekdays she puts in — and maybe, have her own side business. She would like to work on book covers, T-shirt designs and much more. But for now, the paper is her canvas.

Her art on display

For more on her, check out instagram.com/amruthaarts