The Butterfly Effect

So far better known for her affluence and being an irresistible fashionista, Michelle Poonawalla, now shows us her other side, that of an immensely talented artist with a philanthropic heart

- Payal Mehta

Being the granddaughter of renowned architect-artist Late Jehangir Vazifdar, who gave the city of Mumbai some of its most famous structures such as the Breach Candy Apartments, Cuffe Castle and Washington House, and the wife of Pune-based billionaire businessman, Yohan Poonawalla, Michelle Poonawalla must feel a lot of pressure to live up to everyone’s expectations to excel as an artist. “I like to live for myself. I excel because I like to excel and I have always excelled since childhood,” she avers, nonchalantly.

Michelle has been into art from a very young age. She was an A grade student of Art and is also an Honours graduate in Interior Design. And, having a visionary like Vazifdar as her grandfather seemed to prove a great boost for her. “I grew up seeing my grandfather sketch— his quick black and white sketches in his office. I would come straight from school and he would ask me to pick my favourites of the day,” she reminisces. Michelle further talks about his beliefs that helped her, ‘“An artist is not only meant to paint what he sees, but to evolve emotions much deeper than that. Art should always be intelligent and clever,’ he would say. He had many theories that he would write about, like his colour alphabet and his straight line theory. He even invented his own colour dictionary, where every colour was to show a different emotion or character.”