I’ve been doing Mithila painting for the past 15 years. My hometown is Janakpur-4. My husband is supporting our family. He has gone abroad and is helping our family with supplies and other needs.

I can draw all varieties of the well-known Mithila paintings and Madhubani paintings, which are famous especially in India. The training that I took in India has helped me a lot in painting. 

I started painting Mithila art after ten years of my marriage. I used to sketch Madhubani paintings in the past and was not familiar with the variety of Mithila paintings. I was only familiar with cultural types of painting, such as paintings showing the Ramayan story, the Krishna story, Kober, and Arpan. Nowadays, I am very good at Mithila art. Both Kober and Arpan are forms of art that are used in Mithila marriages.

After I began working at the Janakpur Women’s Development Center, I learned about the various characteristics of Mithila painting, the combination of household work and farming, the day-to-day activities of villagers, village stories, and much more. I can create a variety of new paintings, including those of motorcycles, rockets, people’s lifestyles, and many more.

During my childhood, I faced a lot of challenges. I searched for employment from door to door because I was new to painting. The agencies used to put other artists’ names on my paintings and sell them. When I asked about it, they used to say, it would not be sold if they put my name on it. They also used to pay a very small amount, though my painting was sold for a good amount. I used to receive between 500 and 1000 rupees for my work on the pictures, which were sold for thousands of rupees. I was able to express my deepest emotions to others through Mithila’s painting, which I could never do. The painting offered me the chance to reach out to a family, society, community, state, and country with my message, mood, and spirits. The painting has become the purpose of my life.

My most wonderful experience was when my rocket painting was accepted for the Hong Kong Exhibition. As a reward for my dedication to the painting, I also earned a prize. In addition to being displayed in Brazil and Kathmandu, my paintings were also included in a book with my name. I felt grateful that my name and my work had touched so many people and that my efforts had been successful.

All readers should understand that Mithila art is a traditional form of culture that should never disappear. My goal is to raise awareness so that Mithila art can be passed down from one generation to the next.

I want to encourage both individuals and organizations to provide a platform for talented female artists who are unemployed and unaware of their abilities. Businesses should not just think about earning money but also encourage artists’ participation.