A Life With Strings- Pragya Kumari.

“Our entire family of five had to shift to my grandma’s place because my Dad couldn’t continue with his business. Papa and Maa used to stay away from home in quest of work and it was my siblings and I living alone with our grandparents. At my grandma’s, we weren’t acknowledged well.

Problems arose during admission into schools due to the lack of funds. My sister and I used to save money for paying up our school fees. After a few years, Maa came back to stay with us. Things seemed hopeful, but there was always the hostility from my grandparents’ side. They used to maltreat us. For 10 years, all four of us used to stay in a single room. There have been times when my brother and I had to study without electricity and water. We used to study all day, so that the darkness of the night wouldn’t cripple our dreams.

Through all these years of struggle, I completed my graduation. Though I was studying Science, my mind was always in awe of art. I couldn’t take art classes, given the financial conditions. But, while in hostel, I started learning art by myself. I scrolled through Instagram to widen my horizon. During this time, an artist friend from Pakistan recommended me to go for String Art.

I was full of zeal to learn this art form. When I tried doing it for the first time, my hands pained so much that I was on the verge of giving up. But, my friend pushed me and I kept pursuing it. My first String Art caught the eye of an Art Academy called, “Flaminart”. They asked me to create a logo for their company. Today, I am learning all new art forms from this academy itself.

My sister and I also opened an Instagram Handle, through which I received numerous orders from across India. When I started earning and saw the burden of my family lessening, I knew I was on the right track.

String Art came as a light into my life. It has helped me and my family cope up with the troubles of the world. My next step is to open an Art Gallery so that people can know how difficult it is to manually make an art piece. People these days don’t embrace Art and artists. When we charge a certain amount for our art, they usually gasp at the price, without looking at the efforts gone behind it. I hope that one day, Art earns the respect that it deserves.” – Pragya Kumari Swarnakar.