Bihar: Colourful creations of colour-blind painter winning hearts & laurels

PATNA:  Colour-blindness has not deterred him from creating a colourful world of Madhubani paintings. He has come out with many pieces, including drawing themes from the speeches of PM Narendra Modi on the importance of vaccination in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kundan Kumar Roy, 35, is an MBA and a gifted sculptor as well. Congenitally colour-blind, he has created quite a sensation through his Madhubani paintings based on the PM’s speeches, mainly, on the importance of face masks and vaccination. The PM’s first address to the nation on the eve of one-day ‘Janata Curfew’ last year became Roy’s leitmotiv.

“I drew the map of India in the palm of the Prime Minister in the Madhubani painting with the help of my sister Ankita, who filled colours in the painting,” said Roy. His second painting in support of the PM’s message was on protocols with a message: ‘Stay Home. Be Safe. Support lockdown.’ 

Roy credits his late mother for inspiring him. “She wanted me to explore the world of colours — a challenge for me,” he said. He is supported by his brother Chandan Kumar, sister Ankita and wife Sujata in filling colours on the paintings.

Roy’s three recent paintings on vaccination have won appreciation from the state health department. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Pratyay Amrit has made one of the paintings on vaccination the DP as his WhatsApp status. The painting has also been tweeted by a large number of people.

Roy wants to gift the PM a set of his paintings on the themes of his speeches in the fight against Covid-19. His motivational painting on Bihar Assembly polls was used as a promotional by Election Commission. He also has a a series of paintings on the folksongs of Bihar’s nightingale Sharda Sinha, besides depicting other themes related to environment and social causes. Youth president of ‘National Human Welfare Council’ and brand ambassador of ‘My Planet My Need’, Roy has won several state and national-level awards.