I was born in Shipting, a remote village in the trans-Himalayan Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh, the fourth among five girls.

I contracted polio as a toddler and spent my entire childhood indoors. While my sisters went to school, I passed my time drawing and gradually found solace in painting. It was my distant meme ley (grandfather) who encouraged me to attend the traditional Tibetan art school in Patlikuhal near Kullu, where the weather is warmer and good for my medical condition.

I enrolled in the art school at the age of 22. I received free education there, thanks to a sponsor from France.

It’s a very meticulous process and there are strict guidelines. The drawing needs to be exactly as per iconographic grids and needs to be accurate. So one needs intensive training to make thangka art.

Thangka was once reserved for monks. But now anyone can become a thangka artist. You just need an understanding of Buddhist scriptures and iconography.