Anju Shah

What is art? It’s a prayer, or a form of meditation. I strive to be in the flow as I paint, and when this “I” disappears, the stroke draws itself. I surrender and yield to the medium, the unnamable essence of all sentient beings.

I grew up in the heart of old Kathmandu before the earthquake of 2015. The city’s stupas, architecture, and mandalas speak of its Buddhist past, and a rich cultural heritage—the confluence of colorful Hindu tradition and the monastic Buddhist aesthetics. Before I moved to New Delhi to study fine arts, I had lived through a civil war, and the massacre of a royal family, and the eventual downfall of the Hindu monarchy. There was much turbulence in the streets with shutdowns, strikes and protests, which provided enough fuel, raw and potent, to stir the mind and spirit of the young artist in me. Even today I’m only beginning to draw from my self and the store of experiences out of a stubborn desire for peace and understanding.

I love to draw with color pencils, ink and watercolor on paper. I also use oil and acrylic on canvas. For digital illustrations, I use Sketchbook Pro on iPad. My picture book “The Story of India’s Partition: History Illustrated,” and a comic book, “The Battles for Justice: No C...

BFA, DCA (New Delhi)