From Struggles to Stardom (A Young Artist’s Rise)

Ravi Patel grew up sketching on the back of discarded grocery receipts his father broughthome. Art supplies were a luxury in his low-income Mumbai neighborhood, but Ravi’s imagination knew no limits. His heroes weren’t celebrities—they were street painters and muralists. At age 14, he entered a local art competition and lost. “Too raw,” one judge commented. Ravi took that as a challenge. He taught himself techniques from YouTube, practiced relentlessly, and saved for a secondhand tablet to learn digital art. By 17, he was creating digital portraits that caught attention online. But his parents worried—it wasn’t a “real career.” They wanted him to study engineering. Ravi juggled both worlds, taking art commissions at night while studying by day. His big break came when a Bollywood actor shared his fan-art on Twitter. Overnight, his Instagram followers exploded. Now 21, Ravi is a freelance illustrator working with brands and musicians. His art—full of Indian color, chaos, and culture—is celebrated globally. But he hasn’t forgotten his roots. He teaches weekend classes to kids in his neighborhood. “Your background doesn’t define your finish line,” Ravi says. “Your belief does.”