Nilamben was born in Sumrasar Sheikh, the 4th of 6 children of parents who migrated from Nagar Parkar, Pakistan, in 1972. She attended school to 5th grade. Nilamben learned suf embroidery from her two elder sisters, as women do not do suf work after age 30 or so. However, she realizes that today the young don’t know tradition, so learning from elders is good. Nilamben has worked with Kala Raksha for several years. So far she has not attended any workshops or exhibitions. Confident and determined, Nilamben wanted to follow in the footsteps of her elder sister, who graduated from Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya last year. She believes in the value of education, and knows that it requires effort.

Nilamben believes that the future of suf embroidery is good design. Whether we work for ourselves or for Kala Raksha, she says, we need design. Design will bring us fame; otherwise, the art remains the same. Nilamben hopes to do well at KRV and teach others here. With education, she feels she could do anything.

After graduating, Nilamben has participated in workshops to develop new work based on the Kala Raksha museum collections.