Seema is career diplomat and a humanitarian, who aims to fuse a traditional Indonesia art form with her own Indian cultural heritage through the art of making batik saris. Seema learnt the art of Batik in Indonesia in 2012 while serving with the United Nations. She took batik classes during vacations on the islands of Java and Bali, and soon developed her own unique art form incorporating motifs from her native India, into Batik, and finding expression for her unique art on various Indian fabrics. Each sari shows Seema's own personal touch and portrays her rich Indian roots, designs that are meticulously drawn by hand, utilizing characters and inspirations from Hindu and Buddhist traditions. She uses vibrant colors and carries out the entire process of designing and producing each piece of couture art by herself. Using canting and traditional dyes, Seema embraces local culture and creates a unique signature: a fusion of Indian and Indonesian heritage, while using the sari, widely regarded as a symbol of Indian culture and the most ancient and most graceful of Indian garments, to express her passion for this rich art. 

Ashikha: a fusion of Indian and Indonesian culture

Ashikha, drawn from the Sanskrit word shikha means “branch”, and combines initials from Seema’s name with letters from the word batik. It also illustrates her love for Mother Earth, and the many cultures that influence her, from which she has drawn inspiration to create this unique branch of batik art.
Seema is also pursuing the study of Indonesia’s rich Hindu heritage and will support this work as well as selective humanitarian causes -- through her art and designs.

About Batik

Batik, which comes from the word titik (or dot, point or drop), is the process of applying melted wax to cloth or other surfaces by hand, then dyeing the cloth to create patterns that are rich in meaning and history. The wax acts as a resist to the dye, hence batik refers to a form of wax-resist art today.

Batik tulis means writing by wax, and describes the process whereby a piece of fabric is waxed completely by hand using the canting tool and requiring the highest level of skill. Depending on the size of the cloth, the process can go on for days or months. The wax dots or lines are drawn by hand and are painted laboriously by the artist requiring detailed work which is visible by the thickness of the wax dropped on to the cloth. Batik chaap refers to the use of a copper stamp to deliver the wax on to the cloth. While chaap is less laborious, both methods require painstaking effort and require a high level of patience, skill and practice.

Some researchers suggest that the batik technique may have been developed and spread from India. The history of Indian culture and heritage dates back to its influences across Southeast Asia as early as the 1st century AD, and Indonesia inherited much of this rich culture by the early 1200s, evident most prominently in parts of Java and Bali even today.

Indonesia can claim to have developed the richness and tradition of the batik process to the highest level, and maintains its true heritage in present times. Javanese batik is considered to be one of the true marks of Indonesian heritage, recognized the world over for its rich history and patterns.

The artist: a personal touch

Seema creates each piece of art with a deeply personal touch, using a variety of designs and motifs from her Indian cultural tradition to match the qualities of the fabric and the personality of the client.

Seema began her art as a hobby, while working as a career diplomat and humanitarian for thirty years, drawing inspiration from her travels around the world, most notably throughout South and Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. In addition to completing a doctorate and career in International Education, she found time to pursue her passion for art, at the Maryland Institute College of Art in the USA, her adopted home country. Her art can be found in private collections and homes in the USA and many other countries.

Before beginning each piece, Seema takes time to talk at length with each of her clients, learning about their personal interests and tastes, and then creating a personalized design for each individual. Her designs are unique, the colors are bright, and her patterns both traditional and modern, steeped in the culture and history of the Asian region.

She carries out the entire process of designing and producing each piece of couture art by herself, following each step, including thinking about a suitable design, sketching on paper, drawing on cloth or clay, waxing, coloring and finalizing each piece of art paying careful attention to every detail at each step of the batik process. Using canting and traditional dyes, Seema embraces local culture and creates a unique signature: a fusion of Indian and Indonesian heritage.