Jesfer Pulikkathody was born on 2 January 1985 in Malappuram. He has been suffering from muscular dystrophy for 12 years, which means that 80 percent of his body is paralysed from the neck down. While still at school he painted using his hands, but due to the progression of the disease he had to quit school. Over the years he learned to write and paint with his mouth. After reading the autobiography of the then president of India, he was so inspired and touched that he painted the president's portrait and had the opportunity to present it to him personally. In the year 2007 he was chosen for a prize awarded by the Kodamkanthath International Art Foundation.