With a cheerful smile adorning her, Anu Jain is a pleasure to speak to. During my last couple of interactions with her, we discussed several things about art, including her favouritism for watercolour as a medium of painting, her inability to use oil paints, and the way she uses acrylic to make her paintings life-like.

I first met her at Pragati, an art exhibition conducted in Bangalore a few months ago, and I was amazed by how conveniently she conducted herself around the gallery in her wheelchair, or opened her tote to answer her mobile. If you are wondering what is so special about this, meet this super-inspiring artist, Anu Jain, who was born without complete limbs.

Congenitally, Anu has arms developed till her elbows and legs up to her knees. While she is one of the most celebrated artists in the world today, the story of her life until a few years ago has been nothing short of heart-wrenching.

“We used to travel from Kharagpur to....