Pradyumna Kumar, from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, is the first Indian to ever win the prestigious UNESCO Noma Concours in Japan in 2006, as well as 2008. After a surgery cost him his job as a land surveyor, Pradyumna took to art, influenced by Madhubani traditional style, making improvisations on themes and topics. His works are in permanent collections at the National Museums in Liverpool, the Mingei International Folk Art Museum in San Diego, and QAGOMA in Brisbane. He is also the author and illustrator of two books.
Pushpa Kumari is a younger generation Madhubani Mithila artist who has retained the Mithila paintings’ distinctive styles and conventions, while addressing new subjects such as women’s rights in India. Her works continue to draw on the theme of sexuality. Pushpa was trained by her grandmother, the acclaimed Mithila artist Maha Sundari Devi, one of the pioneering Madhubani artists to work on paper. Selling work since the age of 12, Pushpa’s uniqueness lies in her desire to experiment and develop new themes and treatments.
Nagaland’s women entrepreneurs have turned their flower drying tradition into a sustainable source of livelihoods. However, they still struggle for government support.