“In 2012, I was diagnosed with an incurable medical condition that restricted my socialization and doing the activities which I loved to do. This confinement led to sadness, distress, and finally frustration – I used to crave anything that would warm the cockles of my heart. It made me realize that being an adult it is very difficult to fathom the irritation and frustration so how much more will it be affecting medically compromised children. Through making colorful cards with inspiring thoughts my effort is to bring in a ray of sunshine and hope, and convey the message that they are not alone in their fight,” Sumita confesses.

Besides, Sumita sends her encouraging cards to various nursing homes in the USA, and she donates her art and crafts to charities for auctions to raise money for their noble cause: “Simply Amazing” (a non-profit organisation from Florida, USA, whose mission is to provide art and craft supplies to children living in foster care), and “East Side Elders” (a non-profit organisation which provides help for seniors in Minnesota, USA).

“Generally, my search is for charities run by people who have gone through or going through life-altering challenges,” Sumita says.

“Once I came to know from my doctor friend that a senior lady living alone in my neighborhood was scheduled for spine surgery. I knew her by face but never spoke to her. I created a card of a rainbow smiling through the clouds with the message – “Thinking of you” and left it near her door. A few days later during my evening walk, I saw her standing outside her house. I greeted her and asked her if she had received my card. Her eyes twinkled with joy. She called me, gave me a hug, and said – ‘Oh it was you; I was wondering who this angel is! You know I framed your card and hung it on the wall next to my bed. It is helping me to heal quickly.’ I felt a wave of positive emotion flowing through me. Just a small handmade card made such a big difference in her life,” Sumita recalls.

“Once I had drawn a Superman card and sent it to a special need boy whose age was chronologically 19 but cognitively 6 years. I had written the message – “ You are awesome”. He used to be morose and rarely smiled. His mother was deeply moved and sent me a thank you card along with his photograph laughing heartily clutching my card. Probably he felt that he can also be someone special,” she shares.

“Language can be a barrier in communication, but art is a universal language. It is a reflection and expression of the mind. It can invoke the same feelings across the boundaries of countries and cultures. The combination of colors can connect diverse people, promote positivity and brighten up the mood of another person in any part of the world,” Sumita says.

“Art brings beauty to the world. Apart from beauty, my art focuses on bringing joy, encouragement, and hope. A smile on a child’s face has a ripple effect on the family. Happy parents become happy employees thus making a happy atmosphere at the workplace. This happiness goes on like a chain reaction. When I receive a message that my small effort has made some difference in a person’s life it gives me immense happiness,” Sumita thinks.

”The kids can create cheerful cards, write an encouraging message, and give them to their friends, parents, grandparents, and neighbors. If possible, they can send their cards to an orphanage/children’s home or old age homes. (…) The parents and teachers can first encourage the children to embrace art in whatever form and shape that they like (commonly a child thinks ‘My drawing will be bad and will be laughed at’, which should be dispelled). Then the child should be guided towards using positive and encouraging thoughts towards the artistic objects they create,” she says.

“My realizations are that thought is the most powerful tool, and skill is not the final word in art. I feel anything drawn from the heart is art (HEART). Hence, every human being is a born artist. Starting any artwork in an open mind with positive emotions is the correct approach rather than thinking what others may think about our skill level,” she advises.

Sumita combined her love for children with her teaching experience of more than 20 years and wrote “Fun with Mathematics”, a book that lives up to its name and encourages the 8-11-year-olds to discover the secrets of mathematics through puzzles, games, amazing facts, and magic, all based on mathematical concepts.