Born in Vijayawada and raised in Hyderabad, Jahnavi Maganti’s sister inspired her to take up painting as a child. “Soon, I started drawing portraits, graffiti, Facebook art pages, etc.,” recalls Jahnavi, who is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree at Warwick University.
An artist and classical dancer, Jahnavi passionately pursued her idea of blending art and dance, and decided to challenge herself by informing the Guinness World Records officials about painting a canvas with her feet.
“Much to my surprise, when I landed in India in December 2017 for vacation, I got permission for the attempt,” she recalls, adding, “I started making arrangements like choreographing dance moves, getting the canvas cloth of 150 square metres stitched etc. I decided to paint three roses through dance, since my grandmother gave them to me to wish me luck before the task.”
However, the biggest shock, says Jahnavi, came when she was asked to dance and paint with a brush! “I was completely taken aback with their idea! I hardly had any time to prepare, but thankfully, things fell in place and I could pull it off in nine hours. I played Sufi songs, Bollywood beats and other filmy numbers to keep myself charged up. I broke the previous record of 100 square metres,” says the exhilarated teen.
Apparently, the 18-year-old employed a circular motion technique to paint the entire canvas.
“I also used acrylic paint, which can dry up quickly. Since it was a huge canvas, getting a bird’s eye view was difficult, so I had to imagine everything. Also, I got cramps in my left foot because the pressure was all on one leg. But I am happy that my art is being appreciated,” she shares.
