Hailing from the house of Jamnia in Madhya Pradesh, Chirantana Kumari was raised by a family of petrolheads. Both her father, Raja Saheb Shaliwahan Vats, and brother Yuvraj Saheb Shailaditya Singh join the nation’s conglomerate of vintage car enthusiasts, and I am yet to find a make or model that the young Yuvraj doesn’t recognise. Recently, he even directed a promo film for Rajkot’s iconic Rolls Royce Phantom II, which is popularly known as ‘The Star of India’.
Chirantana’s fascination over vintage automobiles found expression in the form of fine arts, wherein the budding artist has hand-painted a striking series of ceramics. A national-level sharp shooter, Chirantana’s balanced stillness further enriches her creative adroitness. She is now married to the house of Ramgarh, wherein she is devising an entrepreneurial model for her artwork. For the time being, her newly-launched Instagram handle, @the_ mystic_trunk reveals brief snippets of her ongoing work, and also mediates any product inquiries that one might have.
Elaborating upon her family’s penchants for vintage automobiles and art, Chirantana says: “Vintage cars are a legacy of the nostalgic bygone era. I’ve always been fascinated by these old cars since my childhood. My grandfather, his friends and other family members owned vintage cars that were designed in the absence of constraints such as crash tests. Instead, automobile makers of those days created streamlined designs that were reflective of the trends and moods. Every vintage car tells a story of its own, and the history that went into its inception is a sub-genre that piqued by interest for a long time. For example, extravagant metals such as gold, silver and gems such as diamonds were used while crafting vintage cars for the rulers of various princely states. Most of these masterpieces continue to be impeccably restored and adored by enthusiasts all over the world.”
She elaborates, “When it comes to creative arts, the various women of my family have involved themselves in painting on different mediums as a leisure time activity. So, I followed suit and studied the detailed anatomy of vintage cars in order to paint them in my free time. When one of my uncles, who happens to own a handicraft showroom came across my work, he encouraged me to occupy a corner of his space where I could showcase my talent. In no time, the paintings began to sell, and I received several orders by vintage car enthusiasts for their archives and regal garages.”
“Now, when I look back, I see that my combined love for painting and vintage cars, which started as a leisure time activity, has culminated into a specialisation in its own right. Even though I am busy pursuing my PhD in Economics, I continue sparing some time to feed my creativity,” Chirantana adds.
Automotive artist, research scholar and sharp shooter, Chirantana sure is a jack of many trades. Sooner or later, she is likely to join India’s leading cohort of automotive artists (also known as ‘Cartists’ in trendier nomenclature), such as Vidita Singh of Barwani, Himanshu Jangid, Nikki Chauhan and Nidhi Agarwal.