CHANCES are that you would have seen most of Chandra Nagi�s murals and paintings in hotel lobbies and restaurant walls and not known who the artist was. Because Chandra never signs her works. She believes they will be recognised for what they are worth, and not for the artist behind them.

She is a robust yet mild lady of Turkish and Bengalee blood, who has been creatively using her hands at all kinds of works of art since she was 16. But it took her 17 years after that to become a painter. �I was an artist, a wall sculptor, who later turned towards painting... because I was scared to do so earlier. You have to be serious about this, because if not, the canvas will catch you,� Chandra says mysteriously.

In all her years, she has not been caught as yet, and now she works in 22 different mediums altogether, from metal and ceramic to porcelain and terracotta. She�s most cautious when she paints, however, and is careful to point out that all the works of art you see at exhibitions are not necessarily paintings. �Painting is a very serious subject, you need knowledge, realisation, depth...�

She�s been painting and doing murals for hotels and restaurants since 1983. Before that, her works were seen in public in residential buildings, shopping centres, corporate offices, swimming pools and even schools. Now she�s one of the star artists that hotels like the Taj Group call upon frequently.

She�s done murals for the new Taj restaurants Sidewok and Shamiana in Bombay, the Sea Princess, the Holiday Inn in Bombay and Pune, the Renaissance in Goa, the Taj Benares and the group�s properties in Cochin. Now she�s got offers to take her talent to Singapore, to some of the finest hotels of the world.

Her murals and paintings can also be seen in the Abu-Dhabi Airport, in Air-India and Indian Airlines offices, in the Parle headquarters, in buildings built by Rahejas, Tulsiani, the Birla Museum in Calcutta and Birla residence at Bangalore. And also in defence establishments.

When�s she�s doing a mural or painting for a restaurant, Chandra tries to make her work suit the food and mood of the place. �I talk to the architect, the interiors person, then do a design. After they approve, we select a material, then I go ahead. It is a creation of three professionals.

I work from my studio in Juhu. It takes time, sometimes months, to make these murals. The one at Sidewok, they wanted in a hurry, so I worked day and night for three months to complete. The one at Shamiana, I did in one-and-half month. After that, I supervise its maintenance for at least three months, until the restaurant staff know how to take care of them.�

Her work is spontaneous, it comes from no definite geometrical school. But it is vividly colourful and very positive work. �I like my paintings and murals to be cheerful, or sober and meditative,� says Chandra. She learnt how to be an artist from her uncle, Ganesh Haloim, one of Calcutta�s most renowned painters and a teacher at the Bengal School of Art.

But he taught me more by word and less by hand,� Chandra says. �And if there�s one thing he inspired me to do, it is to see that my paintings and murals always laugh. That�s what you will find in restaurants... a happy, cheerful atmosphere that is reflected in my works.�