Story of Colour Black: The painting depicts his mother, a chronic ashmathic, who spent countless nights coughing in a semi-dark room, without electricity. "But it was in the darkness that she made her own black colour, using soot. It was magical to see light reincarnating as colour on paper."

Back in 1950s and '60s, Savitri Devi, an artist residing in the Madhubani district of Bihar, would sketch striking, calendar-style images of Ram and Krishna with pencil on large canvases. She followed the traditional Mithila painting style that originated in the region, characterised by geometric patterns and gaps on canvas filled with flowers, birds and animals. While many other artists in the neighbourhood would sing folk tunes during the painting sessions, Devi was the first to start humming Bollywood tracks.