Jamshedpur: Premlata Agrawal has been my source of inspiration and I have looked up to her ever since I started converting my childhood hobby seriously just like Premlata who started late in her life to catch her dreams, said noted painter Indu Mishra, also a homemaker hailing from Bokaro, who is in city for her third solo exhibition.
Talking to The Avenue Mail, Mishra said, �I was very fond of painting from school days but couldn�t take out time from busy schedule of school and tuitions. Married just after completing graduation in Political Science my hobby took a backseat as I was pretty much involved in household chores and devoted initial years in the upbringing of my children. When later I came to know about Everester Premlata, it looked as if her life had been once much the same as mine.�
�Encouraged by my mother, I started experimenting with sketches but the art and paintings of the great Mauryan Dynasty, moorings of Patliputra and religious heritage of Kamakhya drew me closer and deepened my passion. While experimenting, I tried my hand on the paint brush and painted anything which caught my imagination at home in Bokaro during early 2010.
Later, my sons and husband urged me to reconnect with my artistic self,� said Mishra, adding, �I wanted to start a new concept in Madhubani Art apart from the popular god and goddess paintings and introduced Rajasthani concept with women in their traditional attire and �Shaktidayini� focused on Goddess Durga.
Speaking on favourite theme, Mishra said, �My works include that of Madhubani and oil painting with focus on human beings and their moods.�
Indu Mishra within a couple of years put up her solo exhibition �Aarambh� in Bokaro dedicated to the Golden Jubilee Year of Bokaro Steel plant on 6-7 April 2013 where she showcased 41 paintings in a wide range of colours and moods in the exhibition.
Mishra said her second solo was at JSCA Cricket Stadium in Ranchi coinciding with the India-Australia ODI match on Aug 23, 2013 where she exhibited 40-odd canvases.
�Ten percent of the proceeds from the sale would go to the poor and the needy as this has been my interest to serve the society, I provided Rs 25000 to PM Relief fund for Uttarakhand disaster and Rs 10000 from Ranchi JSCA outing and the same traditional will be followed during from Steel City exhibition,� added the artist.
Mishra�s next exhibition will be at Mumbai with theme �Different Strokes� at Walkeshwar Art Desh Gallery from 22-28 December 2014.