You have courage, guts and grit to face any challenges? Then can win anything in life and come out of problems with ease.

Meet 73-year-old Jyothi Navada, a senior artist of Mysuru, who has spent most of her life drawing pictures and has been a source of inspiration for young artists. 

By Mohan Kayaka 

A resident of Vijayanagar, Jyothi originally hails from Mangaluru, but now she is settled in Mysuru. Jyothi worked as visual artist for 35 years in Mumbai Doordarshan Kendra, and has drawn hundreds of drawings of Trident (Trishula) emerging from earth and ocean, Mumbai City, Lord Ganesha and children stories. Her drawings for production of animation video are really eye-catching.

Coming from economically weaker family, Jyothi had interest in drawing since her childhood days. To pursue her hobby, she went to Mumbai and Gujarat cities. Her drawing-learning began from BGM School of Art, Mangaluru and she passed drawing examination conducted by University of Mysore in 1965. Thanks to support from her parents and sister, she goes to Mumbai to join the prestigious Sir JJ School of Art there and completes five-year course by staying in her relative’s place. 

Her quest to learn new things at Baroda Visual Arts College, Gujarat, fails to materialise. So, she continues her studies in Mumbai’s JJ College. In 1973, Jyothi joins as visual artist in Mumbai Doordarshan Kendra and contributed in her own way for more than three decades. After retirement, she has settled in Namma Mysuru and has been a source of inspiration for the upcoming artists.

Sharing about her interest in drawing, Jyothi said unlike other kids, she had interest only in drawing and rangoli drawing. Most of her time went in writing English and Kannada alphabets in attractive manner. Seeing her innate talent in fine arts, her parents and sister encouraged to the hilt. “Science, Math, Hindi and English proved tough for me. After studying from 1st to 8th standard in Delhi Government School, I did higher secondary schooling at St. Ann’s School in Mangaluru. While studying high school, I joined BGM School of Art as part time student, after teachers’ permission. In between, my father joined Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Budni, in Madhya Pradesh and I was forced to accompany him. But, I was bowled out for the beauty of Budni city. I got more inspiration after watching Vaijayanthimala’s Hindi hit movie, ‘Naya Daur’. ”

After completing drawing course in Mumbai, her mother forced her to get married. Since her sister had studied well and working as school teacher, she felt bad for not earning single rupee. She set out of house with a vow to not to return home till finding a job within one year. With this, her hunt for job began and people advised her to join saree design shops or printing press to suit her learning. Initially, she would have contended even if a job fetches her Rs.10. Her art failed to impress the saree designers since her artwork was totally different. After searches, one of her relatives offered Rs. 10 to Rs. 20 to draw the saree border. However, this work was not satisfying and she continued to hunt for jobs.

In 1972-73, one of her relatives informed that Mumbai Doordarshan Kendra is starting shortly and asked her to apply for a job. Accordingly, she got a job on contract basis. Seeing her enthusiasm, they made her stay back and regularised her job.  She started writing the stories board for production of children’s animated movies. Staying at one place for three decades provided her opportunity to learn new things. She won friendship of various professional artists. Despite not knowing Hindi or English, she mingled with one and all.

“I was always dreaming of art from morning till evening. I have preserved some of the beautiful drawings of my life and want to share my knowledge with youths. I feel incomplete if I did not draw picture at least two hours in a day,” she says with a smile on her face.