It is an unusual art and Manoj Kumar, a fine arts postgraduate student of the Allahabad University, is practising it to perfection. He paints on banana leaves and says that this is much more difficult than painting on any other surface.

"The tenderness and fragility of the banana leaf makes it extremely difficult to paint on it. The oil acrylic colours on the green and dry banana leaf often skids off," he said.

Manoj further explains, "The biggest challenge I face with banana leaves is that an image outlining with pencil is not possible on it. Moreover, oil acrylic colours also do not hold firmly on leaves and the colour skids on the leaf just as it would on a wet human body. Unlike working on other surfaces like canvas, paper and walls, painting on green banana leaves takes a much longer time."

He now ensures the leaves do not break or tear by putting them in a unique solution before drying them. He refuses to divulge the details of the solution. "Let me perfect it and then I will talk about it," he said. "I was able to do better after trying and trying and trying to get better at it," said Manoj Kumar.

Since this is the month of 'Shravan', Manoj is making paintings of Lord Shiva on banana leaves and he hopes this will win him appreciation.