Born in Bombay, India, Kamath spent her formative years in Delhi, and acquired an MA in English literature.

It was the sight of sketches in a book titled For Better or for Worse, by Lynn Johnston, that inspired her to draw cartoons[1] .

She also contributed environmental cartoons in a German collection called Third World.

Her collection is currently with SPARROW link below and has been published as The World of MAYA.

At the time of her death Kamath was India's only female political cartoonist.