After his schooling, Dilip Shyam left his village, Patangarh, for Bhopal with dreams of getting a good job in the city. Today it is not his daily wages job at the Museum of Mankind in Bhopal, in which he finds fulfilment, but it is in his art. Jangarh Singh once said to him, “You also have an artist in you. Don’t let that die,” these words still inspire him to create and excel.
When Dilip Shyam was honoured with the Jangarh Singh Shyam Award in 2008, it was like a dream come true.