Indore , MADHYA PRADESH :

Indore :

Proving that school education is not the only way to success, artist Wajid Khan, whose studied up to Standard IV  in the MP Board Examination, earns lakhs of rupees by selling his paintings.

Sharing his success story, he said, “I never enjoyed reading or writing, instead working with real objects and machines.” Born with a silver spoon, he had never imagined living on footpath.

“Unfortunately, when I could not clear Class V board examination, my parents kicked me out,” Khan said. He elaborated that his mother Roshanara had given him Rs 1300 and told him to become successful and make her proud.

Walking 13 km near the railway track from his village Songiri to Mandsaur railway station, he was scared and paranoid about being robbed. “Then, I saw the bright moon shinning ahead, and it was my silver lining,” Khan said.

Taking the first train from Mandsaur, he reached Ahmedabad. “I lived on footpath there and started a small business of buying and selling old clothes,” Khan said.

Investing his talent using scrap material, he tried to make something useful. “Finally, after a number of attempts, I was able to make a small replica of an iron,” Khan said.

His inventions caught attention of engineering students, who connected him to their guide Prof Anil Gupta. “Gupta suggested me to become artist and advised me to shift to Indore,” Khan said.

He explained that Indore is the ‘city of success’, where people accept new ideas and promote them. “Again, I was living on footpath in Indore, when someone gave me an opportunity to live in his store room as care taker,” Khan said.

With a small income and place to stay, he started working on his art work. “I had been visiting my hometown frequently then, and during one of the trips, I picked up a box of nails from there,” Khan said.

Using those nails, he decided to make a portrait of Gandhi. “I started making that painting with my helpers in 2007, which I completed in 2010,” Khan said.

The painting was sold for Rs 20 lakh. “Further, I invested in other paintings and continued making portraits of famous people,” Khan said.

After a few years, his parents arranged his marriage with Maryam Siddiqui, who was an artist as well. “My paintings got the missing detailing touch from Maryam,” Khan said.

Sharing his philosophy, Khan quoted the importance of doing what you love. “I did not study, but I did something that makes me happy, and that is why I am successful,” Khan said.

source: http://www.freepressjournal.in / The Free Press Journal / Home> Indore> Sunday Guest / by Tina Khatri / September 25th, 2016