"WHEN one door is shut in one’s life, the other opens up. Every human being has one talent or the other. All you need to do is to exploit it. We should not weep over our sorrows in life. We can lessen our sorrows by becoming self-dependent", says the strong-willed Shivani Sood, an upcoming artist.

Shivani was 20 and in BA part-I when her marriage took place. Daughter of Major Sansar Chand Sood (retd), Shivani now lives with her seven-year-old daughter Ridhi in Panchkula. After divorcing her husband, a chartered accountant who lives in England, she came to India in 1994 along with her little daughter.

She did not give up hope and joined NIFD in 1996. Suffering from arthritis, she found solace in her hobby — painting. She joined Bama Aca demy in Sector 9, Panchkula, where she learnt the basics of painting. In October 1999, she took part in an exhibition held at Government College of Art Chandigarh. This proved a boon for her. Her portraits depict the inner strength of a woman.

Shivani’s drawing room has a huge collection of paintings, mostly abstracts. A painting titled ‘friends’ shows three women. It is a beautiful piece of art. The colours she has used in this painting are black, yellow, green and majenta, Shivani says.

white. She has also painted Egyptian, Japanese and European women. Another painting depicts a scene at the sea and the ferries. A beautiful jungle scene has been done on the canvas using oil paints.

Shivani is also interested in literature and philosophy, listening to music and driving. She is quite optimistic about exhibiting her art again. She is making more paintings towards that end. She devotes at least two and half hours every day to her hobby. Arthritis is no handicap for this young, strong-willed woman.