Communities Asha Jha part of
Communities that Asha Jha follow.
We have witnessed our mother's incredible journey, from struggling to provide food and shelter, to deciding to take job as domestic helper and to finally receiving a prestigious NATIONAL AWARD for her expertise in Madhubani art. Through her dedication, she has transformed numerous lives, empowering more than thousands of women, to achieve financial independence and support their families. Maa's path has been remarkable. At the young age of 17 maa got married, And faced societal pressure to have male children, but we five sisters were born instead, which resulted in our parents being expelled from the society, and we came to small town DARBHANGA, BIHAR. we endured mistreatment from relatives and society. However, Maa always stood up for us, ensured our well-being and kept working hard to change our lives. Papa, although well-educated, faced difficulties in securing employment but always supported Maa in her endeavors. To sustain our family, Maa turned her love for Madhubani painting into a source of income while also helping other women in similar circumstances. In our modest two-room home, one room served as our living and study space, while the other was dedicated to Maa's work. Witnessing Maa's tireless efforts day and night, we learned Madhubani painting and made a promise to uplift our lives and provide employment opportunities to women artisans. Despite challenging financial conditions, Maa prioritized our education. All five of us pursued different paths, with careers in engineering, chartered accountancy, fashion technology, higher studies in English, and ongoing studies. In 2014, Maa's talent was recognized with a National award for her Matsya-Avatar painting, bringing significant change to our lives. We actively joined Maa in her work, dedicating ourselves to its growth. We established our own art studio and developed an online business called "Madhubanipaints By Asha Jha," where we model, click photographs, design, and collectively manage the entire business, Earlier maa used to participate in exhibition every month, since it was only means to earn, but now, maa occasionally participates, as we have a stable online business, and so her love for plants has become a significant focus. She wakes up early in the morning, not only for work but also to nurture over 500 plants, creating a nature-filled space where birds and animals thrive. Currently, our team includes more than 200 rural women artisans, and Maa teaches this art form free of charge to young girls and women at our studio in Darbhanga, Bihar, and along with the teaching and providing work, maa has always been a social worker, from helping to build homes for our artists, to support women who are victims of domestic violence, and to motivate the young girls to complete there education along with work, maa has always been a strong social figure for us and all her women artisans who treats maa like their own mother too. Maa's advice to us and all strong women is to prioritize financial independence in today's world. She believes that hard work can completely transform one's life, regardless of the challenges faced.