On the strength of her strong determination and will power, Asha was able to conquer cancer. After forty-four years of service, she is working as a freelance artist in the field of fine arts.

Dr. Asha Anand is a freelance artist. She has recently retired as a Professor and HOD from Ismail College, Meerut. She has given her services for forty-four years in Ismail College and has been associated with many organizations. She has also been a Chairperson of Aesthetic International. She is associated with several NGOs too for social work projects such as Cancer Survivor Group, Pink Rebel Group, etc. Currently, she is a freelance artist, who makes paintings and sells them in her exhibitions. Her paintings are bought not only in India but all over the world and people are fans of her paintings.

Asha belongs to Meerut. She did her schooling from Ismail Girls National Inter College. Then she did her BA from RG Degree College and MA in Fine Arts from Meerut College. She got her PhD degree in Mughal Art from NAS College. As soon as she finished her MA, she took a job at Ismail College and retired from there after forty-four years.

Regarding her inspirations, Asha says she was deeply influenced by her father’s hand in art work because seeing his perfection, she was inspired to pursue a career in fine arts. So she considers her father as her role model. She also draws inspiration from her son as he always motivates her to work and push further.

Asha shares that she always had a passion for painting as a hobby. Her aspiration was to become an ENT specialist doctor. Since there was no medical college in Meerut and due to not getting permission to go out for studies, she had to venture in the field of painting. Going forward, seeing the cut art-work in her father’s bullion business, her interest in fine arts grew more. Then she thought of moving to Mumbai to pursue her specialization in fine arts, but again due to the conservative thinking of her family, she had to stay back.

Adding to her struggle tales, Asha says she had a very smooth professional life. But on the personal front, she stumbled a lot. She says after marriage, she stayed alone and took care of all the household responsibilities, due to her husband’s transferable job. Taking care of children along with her job was challenging for her. In the meantime, she had to take study leave for her PhD. She spent the holidays with her husband in Dehradun. There she suffered from acute asthma. She struggled a lot till the inhalers came out. After getting used to the inhalers, she was able to complete her PhD which was delayed by five years. She achieved many milestones in her career afterwards. Again, at the time of her retirement, she was diagnosed with cancer. This diagnosis blew her senses and she was shaken to the core. But with the encouragement and consolation of her family members, she was able to accept it and got cured with its treatment. That’s when she joined the Cancer Survivor Group and was able to come forward in social work as well.

When asked about her achievements, Asha says she has been India’s First Lady Commercial Calendar Artist. Also, about seventy of her calendar paintings have been published. Besides, she has got twenty PhDs done under her supervision, which is not less than an achievement.

In her spare time, Asha enjoys listening to old songs and ghazals besides painting. She also writes poems and ghazals and shares them on her facebook page. She is fond of photography too.

Throwing light on the mindset of today’s generation, Asha says today’s youth want to achieve overnight success which is not possible. Because without struggle and hard work, no one gets success.

Asha advises everyone that life is nothing without any aim. So no matter what field you are in, always go ahead with a goal. Then try your best to achieve your goal with patience and concentration. She adds that no matter what, you should not deviate from that goal until it is achieved.