Meet Sameera of Salt and Sambar, an artist from Vizag breaking stereotypes

With most young minds excelling as engineers and doctors, there are few who take the path towards a career as an artist. Here is a tale of one such young house of talent, Sameera Maruvada. Starting with an aspiration to pursue engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, the Vizag-based artist paved her way to becoming a freelance illustrator and cartoonist. In a conversation with Yo! Vizag, she shares her journey of discovering herself as a professional artist.

Sameera was an ideal student, straight A grades, and always excelled in extracurricular activities. “My time at Little Angels School was the best phase of my life. I feel extremely thankful to my school and the then principal for encouraging me to participate in various art competitions,” says Sameera. Although she was being recognised as an artist, owing to her excellent academic record, she opted to join IIT-JEE coaching classes, aspiring to bag an admit in one of the most prestigious institutes of the country. However, the stressful environment at the coaching centre pushed her away from her creative side.

In hopes of redeeming herself as an artist, she wanted to pursue a degree in Architecture. Alas, she yet again fell prey to societal norms and was obliged to take up a more conventional engineering degree in Electronics and Communication. This, however, did not curb her willingness to stay connected to the artist in her. While studying to become an engineer, in 2015, she started her own YouTube

channel, Saminspire, as a creative outlet from the monotonous life. “I started experimenting by creating different types of videos, but the art tutorials I did, fetched the most views, and hence I stuck to it,” shares Sameera. Deciding not to go into the corporate world of IT, she chose to pursue a degree in interior design from Bangalore.

Soon after, the artist found herself back in her hometown of Vizag, and in the dilemma of what to do next. As her YouTube channel grew and hit a good amount of views, she knew her profession would be in art. As an avid writer, she found herself making comics, where she could express herself both as an artist and a writer. She started a page on Instagram named ‘Salt and Sambar’ in August 2019. Adding dialogues to her illustrations, she found her comics reaching a bigger audience. “I’m filled with joy when my art connects people and family. With my content mostly based on everyday anecdotes of life, most of my audience find it relatable,” says the artist. As her work gained popularity in social media, she started getting freelance work as an illustrator and cartoonist.

This self-taught artist from Vizag, now a freelance illustrator and cartoonist, intends to grow bigger and spread awareness on a career in arts. “I gave in to societal pressure due to lack of awareness. I do not want other young artists to be pushed down for the same reason. It warms my heart when my art inspires an artist to grab a brush/pen and start creating again,” says Sameera. With close to 30,000 subscribers on YouTube and a fast-growing Instagram page, Sameera aspires to become an art teacher and aspires to encourage more such artists to take it up as a profession.

With many sleepless nights editing and uploading her videos on social media, she is grateful for her parents recognising her efforts and for standing between her and society. “I, as an introvert, found my voice through art. I owe it to my grandmother and mother who shaped me as an artist.” shares Sameera. Today, Sameera is a full-time artist and her work is also supported by an ever growing and dedicated community on Patreon, which is a crowdfunding platform for artists. With the theme based on the taunts by a nosy next-door neighbour on a young bachelorette, her calendar proved relatable to many such working women and got sold out pretty quickly. Going further, she plans to organise workshops on illustrations and fine arts and hopes to see a society unbiased with one’s professional choice.