Empowered Women International

“There are people sitting right next to us and we don’t know their stories!”

Malcolm Gladwell writes in his best-seller The Tipping Point that there are three types of people who have tremendous influence on society: “Mavens” are the information specialists, “salesmen” are the charismatic persuaders, and “connectors” are the ones who bring the world together. Connectors are able to bridge many different worlds. They do so, Gladwell says, as “a function of something intrinsic to their personality, some combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability, and energy.” Sushmita Mazumdar is just such a connector. She wonders about everything and everyone. Her childlike appreciation for the world around her and her desire to inspire everyone to see in it what she does¾a place of endless fascination and wonder¾are what make her such a special artist.

Sushmita’s chosen form of artistic expression is hand-making books, most of them true stories, beautifully brought to life using vivid colors, captivating design, and a variety of unusual materials. Though a talented graphic artist, Sushmita is not an illustrator, which has forced her to devise imaginative ways to make her stories visually stimulating without relying on the drawings used in most children’s books. She does this by working with a combination of graphic designs, many different types of paper of various textures, and countless other materials, such as denim, lace, and string. The results are books that are beautiful to the eye and fascinating to the touch.

One of her creations contains a picture of a window over which Sushmita has hung real, miniature lace curtains; another has a picture of a spoon in which she has glued real lentils. One of her most popular titles is Homework, an enchanting story of patience, which is made from a real matchbox. Instead of containing matchsticks, the box holds tiny cards that act as the pages. Sushmita’s creations are unquestionably works of art, but they are not intended to sit behind glass at a museum or to gather dust on the shelves of a collector. They are made to be touched and played with and read, shared by parents and children; they are made to connect.

It was her desire to create a connection with her son, Arijit, that inspired Sushmita to take up bookmaking. When he was four, he announced that he would not eat the spinach and rice lunch that she had prepared. He wanted a turkey sandwich and orange cheese. He further stipulated that he was not going to speak Indian anymore. He was an American, and from now on he would speak only English. Sushmita, who was born and raised in Mumbia, India, and lived there until 1999, wanted a way to help her son understand where she was from and to appreciate that people there aren’t really all that different from people here in America. She decided to adapt some stories she had written about her life in India and make them into storybooks. Teaching herself the basics of bookmaking, she made the first of what has become a series of books about Munmun, the big city girl.

Since then, she has continued to make books out of her own stories, but she has also helped other people to bring their stories to print. It is clear that the collaborative process is something she relishes. One of her most beautiful works is a book of remembrance that she created for a man who had lost his wife. On one of the pages, the figure of a woman is cut out. When you reach the end of the book and close it, you find that missing figure on the back cover, still part of the story, but hidden.

She created another book with a friend about his life growing up on a farm in Germany. Sushmita explains that she knew nothing about farm life in Germany and had never been interested in it before, but she knew “that if I wanted people to understand me, I had better understand them.” This is a theme that runs throughout all of her works. Her own books celebrate her heritage. The books that she has created with other writers often contain references to Indian culture alongside references to her co-creators’ cultural identities. She rejects the analogy of America as a melting pot, preferring to think of it as a salad where all of the ingredients work together without losing their shape or individual flavor. “In a melting pot, everything gets mushed up. I’m not mushed up!” she declares.

Empowered Women International has played an important role in Sushmita’s success. When she decided to turn her bookmaking hobby into a business, she knew she needed help. She enrolled in some business classes, but was discouraged to find that her teachers and fellow students couldn’t grasp what she was doing and didn’t know how to help her. She stumbled onto EWI by chance and met with Marga Fripp. Sushmita was overjoyed to find that Marga instantly understood her vision and was able to guide her in many of the areas where she felt ill-equipped, such as marketing, copyright law, and contracts.

She completed the EWI Training for Success course and has continued to rely on EWI for help as she navigates the small business world. She explains, “EWI is different because it understands artists and business. It also understands that artists don’t understand business.” Sushmita has also turned to EWI to provide the sounding board so necessary for artists¾something she had when she worked in ad agencies and that she sorely missed before finding EWI. “They are my co-workers and my bosses,” she says. “If an idea doesn’t work, they are the ones who I can trust to tell me.”

With the help and support of EWI, Sushmita has been able to create a business out of her passion for story and her unique artistic ability. Doing so has brought her into contact with many of the collaborators that she has since worked with, allowing her to create more diverse projects. Book by book, story by story, she continues her work, building bridges to many different worlds.

Written by Therese Pennefather

With the help and support of EWI, Sushmita has been able to create a business out of her passion for story and her unique artistic ability. Doing so has brought her into contact with many of the collaborators that she has since worked with, allowing her to create more diverse projects. Book by book, story by story, she continues her work, building bridges to many different worlds.