Paresh Maity's journey from small town Bengal to homes of rich and famous

The artist says he followed a regimen that included painting something every single day of his life

It was actually samosas,” artist Paresh Maity tells me in a soft, Bengali-accented tone, recalling his motivation to attend a sit-and-draw painting contest at a local municipal hall when he was still in seventh grade at Hamilton High School. It wasn’t cash or honours, it was the free snacks that got the attention of a hungry boy. But the thing was, he had competition. Because 199 other students also threw their hats in the ring and when their work went on display, Maity flatly says, he was shocked. “My painting was the worst of them all.” He became a laughing