She creates gods in Rishikesh —with her feet

Vishal Joshi in Rishikesh

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Young special artist Anjana Malik feels elated: she has completed her latest artwork of Lord Ganesha within four days! Sitting on the ghats of the Ganga in Rishikesh’s Muni Ki Reti locality, she uses her toes and foot fingers to wield pencil and colours with total concentration.

Daughter of a contractual labourer, Anjana 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. It was, however, not her real story as until a few years ago, she begged on streets of the holy city.

Family tensions forced her to step out of her native village Rampur in UP’s Pilibhit district. “When I arrived in Rishikesh about 16 years ago, I was forced to beg. For a few years, I made Triveni Ghat my home and then moved to Sivananda Jhula or Ram Jhula area. Now I live with my parents, a paralyzed brother and his family in Rishikesh city,” she says.

She hires an autorickshaw before taking a boat to cross the Ganga. Her makeshift studio is located on the way leading to Parmarth Niketan Ashram, a landmark, across the Ganga. “After attending a few classes at my village, I was able to scribble only ‘Om’ and ‘Ram’ with my toes. Visitors at Rishikesh used to offer me a few coins out of compassion. But one day Stephanie Joyce, an artist and yoga teacher from Virginia, US, stopped beside me. Impressed with my capability to scribble with toes, she gave me a sketchbook and colour for practice,” Anjana recalls with a smile.

After that, she worked hard and soon excelled in her natural talent of drawing and colouring using toes. Anjana has priced her vibrant artwork at Rs 2,500 onwards apiece enabling her to financially support her parents and a disabled brother. She manages to earn up to Rs 4,000 per month that she shares with her family members.

“I worked hard on my drawing for several months. Now I can draw popular gods like Krishna, Ganesha, Hanuman and sketch birds like peacocks while wielding a pen with my toes. If today I am able to lead a life with dignity, the credit goes to Joyce,” she says.

“Most of the buyers are foreign tourists. Indian pilgrims offer me financial assistance after watching my creative work. I no longer beg or even expect people to give me money. But any remittance with empathy is accepted,” she says.

The paintings started drawing attention with people walking up to her to see what she was doing. She is assisted regularly by roadside vendors in adjusting her open workplace when the weather is unfavourable. “I feel happy with the way my life is. I have no regrets against anyone as everyone around is helpful to me in different ways,” she says.