a.ritual with malvika jey
art is what happens when calm meets chaos, and both decide to stay.
words by uddipan
Malvika calls herself an introvert. She doesn’t mingle much, and there’s an air of mystery about her that draws you in instead of keeping you away. She prefers silence over small talk, solitude over noise. It’s not detachment, it’s focus. Every bit of her energy seems directed toward one thing she loves and lives for: painting. Her world revolves around her art, and through that devotion, she’s found both expression and peace.
Her art isn’t for everyone; it doesn’t chase continuity or reason; it simply flows, carrying her emotion as it comes.
If I had to describe the moment I walked into Malvika’s home, it would sound something like this: dim lights, soft ambient music, warm light slipping through a few windows, a self-sufficient space with minimal furniture, and the smell of coffee lingering in the air. The walls, alive with color and stories. Her cats moving about freely, like they too were part of her rhythm.
Her space carries warmth, it glows. Maybe it’s her energy.
Malvika is a coffee drinker, as natural to her as breathing. Being South Indian, filter coffee is her go to, her kitchen has that nostalgic charm, the kind of place where every utensil holds a memory. Four to five cups of coffee a day don’t make her restless; they make her flow.
Her cats are part of the calm too. Sushma Reddy, the most social of them, moves around with purpose, seeking attention, keeping the space alive. There’s a quiet companionship in that house, between human, animal, and art.
say hi to miss sushma reddy.
The lighting in her home fascinated me. A few lamps change colors; one red, another yellow. She told me the room where she paints is full of natural light, but when she needs to rest, she shifts to a darker space, playing ambient music to unwind. There’s design even in her pause.
“A creative life is not built on inspiration alone, but on awareness of how one rests, works, and feels.”
Her art falls into the psychedelic genre, dense with patterns, meaning, and precision. I wondered what thoughts flow through her while painting. When I asked, she said she paints as meditation, as invisibility, as release. It made sense. There’s a contrast in her; her calm presence against the intensity of her work.
“She is soft-spoken, unhurried, and yet her paintings feel like storms contained in color.”
Malvika is also deeply grounded.
She misses her family every day but treasures her freedom. There’s balance in how she lives; loving deeply, creating fiercely. She calls her solitude necessary, but never selfish. She keeps in touch with her family, humbles herself with work, and finds her rhythm between love and independence.
traditional print as tattoo which reminds her of home
It’s rare to meet an artist so dedicated to her craft, so clear about her why. When I asked what drives her, she smiled and said,
“Maybe my art can save a life. Even if it’s one person who connects with my work, I’m happy.”
Our time together over coffee was calming. We sat on the floor, surrounded by her art and her cat. When I had seen her work earlier on a screen, it felt intense. But in person, with her beside the canvas, looking at the soft brushes, the layers of color; it all felt gentle, kind, true.
She’s now heading out on a tour across South India, taking her work to new audiences. And as much as you may enjoy staring at her paintings, you’ll enjoy talking to her even more. She has depth. She has honesty. All the best, Malvika.
Observations from this morning with Malvika:
Small spaces create intimacy, not limitation.
Calm energy can make even intense work feel grounded.
Design exists in pause too, the way you rest shapes how you create.
Nostalgia can be a strong design language; it adds comfort to creativity.
A home can reflect the rhythm of the person who lives in it.
Freedom and family don’t have to be opposites; they can teach each other balance.
“Her art is not made for everyone, it’s a language of emotion, raw and unfiltered, where connection isn’t guaranteed but always real.”
Presenting, a.ritual with malvika jey:
