"Even as a young child Laila had a bold and eager disposition. As her father's favorite (a jeweler in pre-partition India), she would often accompany him on boating trips to watch Pearl divers at work. On returning home, huge trays of pearls and uncut gemstones awaited them, and her father would ask her to touch them with her hands as a gesture of good luck. Sometimes Laila played with these gems. This early fascination with precious stones surfaced on her canvases years later in some of her major compositions like the 'Jewels of Buddha' and 'Cascade' from her 'Buddha and Mountain' series."

-- Saeeda Irshad (Close friend)