Meet Disha Daga, 26: Pune artist painted for RBI, taught 25,000 students

Image courtesy: Instagram/@dishadrawssAt 26, Pune-based artist Disha Daga has taken her mandala designs from the margins of college notebooks to the walls of the Reserve Bank of India’s Pune office. She has worked with corporate clients, created murals outside India and taught thousands of people, despite never having formally studied art.Her journey began in 2016, when she was looking for a hobby beyond dance. As reported by The Indian Express, Daga came across mehendi designs on Pinterest and began drawing similar patterns in her notebooks. She did not initially know what the intricate circular designs were called. A Google search introduced her to mandalas.A mandala is a pattern built around a central point, often with shapes and designs radiating outwards. The word comes from the Sanskrit term for “circle”, and mandalas have traditionally been associated with the representation of the universe.From college notebooks to commissioned artworkImage courtesy: Instagram/@dishadrawssAccording to The Indian Express, Daga continued drawing while studying at Wadia College in Pune and managing her degree, diploma courses and dance. But the time she spent making mandalas gradually became more than a pastime. “It makes you patient,” she said, describing how working through each layer required concentration and taught her to slow down. She did not initially plan to become a professional artist. The change came in 2020, when the pandemic shut colleges and cancelled events. Tired of working on paper, she decided to paint a mandala on a wall at home.After she posted the artwork online, people began asking her to create designs for them. Her first commercial project came in August 2021. Daga now works under the name Disha Draws. According to the official website of MyTribe, she transitioned from a commerce background to a full-time art practice, with commissioned murals and workshops becoming key parts of her work.Her artwork reaches the RBI and international clientsOne of Daga’s recent government commissions was a large mandala painting at the Reserve Bank of India’s Pune office, displayed near the entrance. Her work has also reached Malaysia, Thailand and the United States. According to The Indian Express, her clients have included a consumer electronics brand, a global car manufacturer, an investment firm and Vantara, the wildlife centre in Jamnagar.Her workshop listings describe sessions in which participants learn mandala techniques through guided, hands-on practice. Artoreal, which features her work for sale, describes Daga as a Pune-based mandala artist, muralist and art educator. The platform says she has created more than 120 large-scale mandala artworks for homes, offices, commercial spaces and public settings, with work delivered internationally.Teaching more than 25,000 studentsImage courtesy: Instagram/@dishadrawssAlongside commissioned artwork, Daga conducts online and offline workshops. She told The Indian Express that these have reached more than 25,000 students. Her work as an educator also has an independent institutional record. The National Book Trust of India’s 2023-24 annual report lists a mandala art workshop conducted by Disha Dinesh Daga for children on December 18, 2023.She has also built quite an audience on social media. Her Instagram account (@dishadrawss) has more than 42,000 followers.The financial uncertainty behind an art careerBuilding an independent art practice has its own challenges. Daga says income can fluctuate because it depends on commissions, exhibitions, workshops and the ability to reach prospective clients. Quieter periods can be difficult to manage. Artists must also handle work beyond creating art, including marketing, client communication, negotiations and project management. Daga believes artists need to understand the basics of running a business, even when they hire professionals to help with some responsibilities.She also believes art should be treated as a profession that deserves fair compensation and financial security, rather than being seen only as a passion.Daga hopes her journey will encourage young people to question the idea that success must follow academic achievements or conventional career paths. Her own career developed through a hobby she pursued without formal art training, eventually opening doors to commissioned projects, international work and teaching. Her advice to young people is to build their own paths, even when the journey feels uncertain.