Achana started her carrier designing period sets as a assistant set designer for the award winning TV series like Shyam Benegal’s Bharat Ek Khoj and on the movie and ad-film sets of directors like Govind Nihalani. She is an Interior /architecture/ landscape designer, Graphics designer, Event/ sets designer, painter and now an author. A student of martial arts, teacher of Tai chi, an alternative
healing therapist, a Raj Kriya yogi, Archana now lives in solitude in the lap of divine nature. The search to find the appropriate atmosphere and the right expression of harmony of mind body and soul in her work, carried her through many fields of activities and to many cities of India from south to North, she now lives in Dehradun in the foothills of Himalayas from where she plans to move into the higher Himalayas. In her career spanning almost 3 decades, starting from the year 1988, she has preferred staying away from the superficial and mundane. Archana is focused on creating through her work, a beneficial footprint. She espouses the message that we can design products, homes, and institutions which are based on holistic principles. She has keenly observed the climatic conditions of various parts of India taking in account of summer and winter variations in the sun’s path as well as the direction and type of winds, such as cooling breezes to hot dust-storms and has successfully designed energy efficient houses in Vijaywada, Hyderabad- South India, Dehi/ Gurgoan Northern plains of India and Jodhpur in Rajasthan on the edge of western deserts. In these projects, she has reduced or in some cases even eliminated the need for auxiliary heating and cooling, resulting in lower energy bills, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved comfort. Working on natural and fast growing materials like Bamboo and grass in her home Garage/ workshop, finding new ways to use this traditional materials, she has developed durable, anthropometrically scaled and ergonomically shaped furniture and seating systems. This attractive furniture developed by her can be manufactured without the use of harmful glue and finishes. After being involved in creating corporate and institution identity and branding issues for more than 15 years, She is now contributing to the other “good” side of the graphic design profession, by designing for good cause and creating awareness. Working mostly 12 hours a day, from her home studio, she provides her designs for institutions and NGOs and writes and paints the subject of her passion; the Himalayas and the sacred rivers. The soul of her subjects are reflected in the her portraits and landscapes, A painter of portraits of people and animals, she totally merges with the theme of her subjects and brings them alive in her paintings. Currently she is working on the Mythical and Mystical River Ganga.
