A differently-abled woman painter winning hearts in Rishikesh

Young special artist Anjana Malik, daughter of a contractual labourer, was born with no hands and a deformed back and legs. Today Anjana is able to attract tourists towards her exceptional talent of overcoming her physical disability. The detailing she had in her paintings were the reasons that every passerby was amazed at.

Rishikesh (Uttarakhand):Your destiny is not in the lines of your hands, destiny is for those also who don’t have hands. Yes, these lines fit exactly on a specially-abled woman, Anjana Malik, of Mayakund, Rishikesh.

A 38-year-old roadside artist was born with no arms and a deformity in her left leg – but she doesn’t let her inabilities stop her. Due to the severity of her deformity, her left leg reduced to half the size of the right leg. This handless girl coming from a poverty-stricken family does not let her disability to let down her and decide to follow an unimaginable path. Her positive approach towards life is a great inspirationfor others who are ungrateful for what they have.

Anyone would not have imagined doing much by writing with the help of toes and Anjana believes the same. However, within a year she transformed her deformity into her greatest strength. She was helped by Stephanie Joyce, an American tourist visiting Rishikesh when Anjana used to write ‘Ram Naam’ on pieces of paper. Stephanie being herself an artist and yoga teacher encouraged her to start painting instead of writing. She also purchased all the drawing material in order to help her artistic pursuits.

Sitting by the side of Ramjhula Road in Rishikesh, Anjana Malik makes beautiful paintings with her feet. She sits in the open and is exposed to the elements.

Her paintings - each of which takes more than a couple of days to make, often get damaged by dust, rain, passersby and dogs who may step on or tear the paintings.

But this has not deterred a very determined Anjana. With fine strokes and vibrant colours, her paintings have shown the world how disability can never come in the way of her passion to paint and to earn to feed her family.

She sketches with deep concentration and undivided focus.

Every day, for over a year, she has been travelling for 6 km to occupy a place along the river and showcase her paintings that she creates deftly with her right foot. Her daily journey is laden with danger as she has to walk long distances on congested roads, cross a bridge, board a ferry and then finally take a spot along the river. Anjana's commute becomes even more cumbersome during the scorching summers and the monsoons.

She is a woman of courage. Her earning of 4000 rupees a month is spent on food, clothing, medicines, school fees and room rent.

Anjana's story is one of inspiration. True to her name - meaning the mother of Lord Hanuman - Anjana has overcome numerous physical and financial challenges and remained strong in the face of hardship.

Anjana story and her undying spirit to overcome her odds motivated Kartikeya Thiyam Sundaram, Head Boy of the GD Goenka School in Sohna, Haryana and Rohit Sharma of Delhi Public School to create an online funding campaign on Facebook. As of today, they have managed to generate and collect over USD 6000 from their campaign.

Anjana says she determined to provide a better quality of life to her family through her creativity, though the task before her is difficult and onerous. Anjana and her family need security. She yearns for a decent accommodation. She dreams of a stall where she can draw and sell her paintings with dignity. She aspires for a life that is not marred by uncertainty.