SANKALPA, a celebration of the Divine Feminine — Shakti — and the many ways in which her strength, grace, creativity and resilience find expression through women, art, craft and tradition, will be held to mark Navarathri.
The exhibition will be held on October 2 and 3, 2026, at Lakshmi Mills Urban Centre, Coimbatore.
An exhibition of sacred art, craftsmanship, nature and cultural memory, SANKALPA brings together objects and practices that have carried meaning across generations, offering visitors an opportunity to experience them anew.
At its heart is the idea of Sankalpa. In Indian philosophical thought, it is more than an intention; it is an inner resolve — a thought given direction, purpose and sacred meaning.
The exhibition is rooted in this idea of a sacred resolve. Every sculpture, flower, textile, jewel and handcrafted detail becomes part of an offering — to the Divine Feminine, to the artisans who carry forward inherited knowledge, and to traditions that continue to live because they continue to be practised.
SANKALPA began not as an exhibition, but as a deeply personal impulse to bring certain traditions, memories and forms of beauty into a space where they could be experienced rather than simply remembered.
The exhibition creates a space where beauty can be encountered slowly — through material, ritual, nature and silence. It invites visitors to pause, look closely and reconnect with forms of cultural expression that remain meaningful because they are still lived, practised and passed on.
At its core, SANKALPA celebrates Shakti not as an abstract idea, but as a living force expressed through women, creativity, craftsmanship, devotion and the quiet strength that sustains traditions.
Vijayalakshmi Rudrappan of Krishna Parijata, Abhishek S. Murthy of Haldi Kumkum, Aparna Venkatesh and Saranya Gogineni of Aara Design conceptualised SANKALPA. Together, their work brings South Indian tradition, ritual, floral artistry, Indian craft and contemporary design into a shared experience.
The exhibition also holds a special place for Kamala Sivasubramaniam and Indra Venkateswamy, two beloved matriarchs whose presence and memory are woven into its unfolding.
The experience brings together master artisans, traditional florists, handloom weavers, jewellers and craftspeople, including renowned artist Okha Meenakshi Devi and her team, whose Ikebana adds another expression of the relationship between nature, form and beauty.
