Salmabai was born in Sumrasar Jatwali. Her mother embroiders for Kala Raksha, and her grandfather Ibrahimbhai has been Kala Raksha’s Jat embroidery coordinator since 1998. Salmabai did not attend school. She learned to read and write through Kala Raksha’s basic education classes. She began to learn embroidery very recently, by herself, watching. So far, she has not done traditional embroidery for herself, but she says she knows it.

Salmabai has not traveled beyond Kutch so far. “My art is my livelihood, my capability, and a means to independence,” she says. In 2009, Salmabai came to Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya on her own. “I wanted to learn new designs,” she says. She applied her mind, and gathered her courage. Extremely shy at first, she learned to express herself with both needle and word. “I learned to embroider with thinking,” she says. Salmabai’s fresh garment collection won her the award for Most Promising Artisan.