Sanjhi साँझी · the art of cut paper
Her brush is a pair of scissors.
Jaishree Pankaj has cut paper since she was eight, sitting beside her grandfather as he made stencils for Shrinathji. Today she turns that temple craft into works so fine that people refuse to believe they are paper.
The art
A temple tradition, cut by hand
Sanjhi takes its name from sanjh, dusk. In Krishna temples, stencils cut from banana leaves and paper were filled with coloured powder each evening, to decorate the ground before the deity.
Jaishree keeps the cut paper itself. She layers it, colours it and builds it up into framed works, some so deep they look carved from wood or ivory.
From the studio
A few favourites from more than five decades of work. Each one is cut by hand, with no drawing first. See all works →
Look closer
Paper, not paint
Lattices, tassels, bells and feathers, all cut with a small pair of scissors and pasted piece by piece. The closer you look, the finer it gets.
A peacock in the palm of her hand
Watch her fold a slip of paper, cut it with a small pair of scissors, and open it to show a peacock that sits on her palm. No drawing first.
26 seconds · cutting shown at double speed · with music
Music: “Sitar and Tanpura” by ShidenBeatsMusic, via Pixabay
The artist
Jaishree Pankaj
There has not been a single day when I have not cut a paper.
A devotee of Shrinathji, she has exhibited since 1977, from Kala Bhavan in Hyderabad to Kala Ghoda in Mumbai. She does not sketch. She cuts what she sees in her mind.
Collectors
Treasured by India’s great families
At her first Mumbai exhibition in 1994, her work was bought by some of the country’s best-known industrial families.
Admirers who have written in her visitor books include .
In the press
What the papers said
From a Chitralekha cover in 1994 to Mid-day and Deccan Chronicle. Read the clippings →
Commissions
A piece made for you, and for a good cause
Jaishree makes new work only on request: a Shrinathji for your puja room, a jharokha for your home, a gift that no one else will have. Part of every commission goes to charity.