Farhan Israeli/Jaipur

Art conservation is a field that doesn’t just preserve history but also connects generations to our heritage. Maimuna Nargi is a unique name in this field, who has carved a unique identity for herself as being first Muslim female art conservator.

Her story is not just of professional success, but of passion, struggle, and determination that revived the broken pieces of history.

She had a passion for art since childhood, which later became her sole path. After schooling, when she began studying Fine Arts from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), the artist in her came to the fore. But admission in MFA was difficult, so she chose a one-year diploma in Museology, which became a determining turning point in her life.

Maimuna restoring a Krishna art work

This course took her to the National Museum in Delhi, where she got a chance to train for three months. Maimuna says that this experience was like entering a new world for her - she got a chance to touch history beyond just books.

In 2002, she began working as a curator at the historic Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur and from there her journey of art conservation took off.

This path was not easy. When she went to Delhi to study museology and conservation, people taunted her, “Everyone dreams of coming to AMU, and you are going to Delhi from there?"

Subjects like museology and art conservation were still unknown to t society, but her parents believed in their daughter's dreams and trusted her enough. Her mother even went to Delhi with her when she was going to take the examination.

Maimuna with Buddhist Monks

The road ahead was full of challenges. Because she wore a hijab, clients were not sure of her abilities. Even after showing approval of the project and budget, a client stopped contacting her just because she wore a hijab.

Many times, she did not even get money for freelance projects. When the family advised her to complain about it, she said, "This is a lesson for me, not a loss."

The real magic of Maimuna Nargis is most visible in her projects.

The 400-year-old wooden chariot of Jaisalmer's Ludarwa Jain shrine had become disfigured with mud because of termites, which she rebuilt using the same traditional material without the help of any carpenter, and that chariot is now in use.

She joined the broken idols from the 6th to 13th centuries in Ajmer's Akbar Fort in such a way that the joints were not visible. She joined small pieces of a 400-year-old Sanskrit manuscript written with gold and ink in the Kota Museum and gave it life.

Maimuna Nargis restoring the wall art

Her most difficult task was to restore the colourful paintings on the ceilings of 11 rooms in the Garh Palace of Jhalawar. She saved the ceilings of three rooms without removing a single piece and without causing any damage.

Her work at Jaipur and Bombay airports also caught everyone's attention. At Bombay airport, she removed the creases and bubbles in a 5000 square feet canvas painting on Maratha history so that it looks the same even today.

During her internship at Rashtrapati Bhavan, she saved historical paintings on wooden doors. In the National Museum, she restored historical books like Baburnama, Akbarnama, Shahjahannama and Jahangirnama. She also gave new life to the clothes of kings and maharajas and a damaged Pichwai painting in Albert Hall.

Alongside history, Maimuna is also sensitive to the environment. She says cement has a lifespan of just 30 years, while traditional Indian plaster, made from surkhi and lime, lasts for thousands of years. It is eco-friendly, cheap and durable. In Dehradun, she built a building based on the blueprints of a 400-year-old haveli and a modern farmhouse in Gurugram, both using traditional materials.

Maimuna Nargis working on a ceiling

Talking about honors and awards, Maimuna has received three national and 28 state level awards. She has received honors from institutions like Kurukshetra in Haryana, Jammu University and Jammu FICCI. Her dream is to build a heritage resort made of mud and traditional style in Madhya Pradesh and to redecorate a 500-year-old temple in Mathura.

She wants India to re-embrace its cultural roots, traditional building materials, and art. She has decided to record her journey in a book so that the succeeding generation can know what can be achieved with passion, hard work, and perseverance.

Maimuna Nargis still stands with the workers in the field, mixes lime herself, and plasters the walls. Her down-to-earth attitude is her real strength. She says proudly, "I am the only Shia Muslim woman art conservator in India, and this is my identity."

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Born in Bahjoi, a small town in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh, Maimuna had a normal upbringing. Her father was in the UP Police, and her family always encouraged her. She lives in Jaipur.