2023 · Web-Based Interactive Folktale Art Direction, Illustration & Narrative Design
Aami & the Mangrove is a web-based interactive folktale that I wrote, illustrated, and art directed as my thesis project at the National Institute of Design. It is a story about two girls, two mangroves, and the quiet devastation of forgetting what we depend on.
The story draws from folklore across Assam, Nagaland and, most importantly, the Sundarbans delta where nature is at its most volatile and must be respected. In this story, ecological research on coastal flooding and soil erosion work in tandem with folklore into a dual narrative: one set in a world where the mangrove is already gone, and another where the disrepair of nature can still be restored. Aami's story holds tragedy and beauty in the same frame.
Built in P5.js by Shrivathsa M.S., with an original score by Alita Dharmaraj.
art direction
The visual world of Aami was built around two craft traditions chosen with intention: Dhokra and Gond.
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Dhokra ( a metal casting tradition from eastern and central India) gave the work its grounding. Its forms are local, tactile, and rooted in the same regions the story inhabits. It was important to me that the visual language felt like it belonged to the land being depicted, not imposed on it.
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Gond art brought something different: a surreal, almost cosmic density — the kind of image where every leaf is alive and every tree breathes. That richness was exactly what the world of Aami needed. The mangrove in this story is not backdrop. It is character. Gond's visual grammar made it possible to render the forest as moody, luscious, and full of presence.
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The result is a visual language that sits between the grounded and the mythic — which is exactly where folktale lives. The colors are often dark, earthy, and moody to reflect the same.
process
1 . Research & Writing
I began by reading into the soil erosion and flooding that had, by 2023, led to incredibly destructive flooding in coastal regions, along the Brahmaputra river, and the Sundarbans delta. ​
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From here, I read more into folklore from regions included and around my research area and began to compose my folktale. This story was then edited and refined by Alita Dharmaraj.​
2 . Sketching
Once the story was written, I started to sketch out what it might look like. I decided on an art style that incorporated elements of Dhokra art and Gond art.
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This was also when the goddess of the story, Malati, was named and created, inspired by Bonbibi of the Sundarbans.
3 . Prototyping
The folktale was now storyboarded and prototypes were made on Figma in order to aid our developer, Shrivatsa M.S.
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Once he had the prototype and the opening scene of the story, he began to build the aamismangrove.in website.
4 . Iteration
From here, we began iterating on various aspects of the interactions and effects such as the firefly trailing the mouse, or the scene in Aami's kitchen where she cooks her kheer,