Petit traveled to Rabindranath Tagore's ashram in Shantiniketan in 1934 to study under artist Nandalal Bose, and to learn Manipuri dance.
From 1955, Li Gotami, together with Govinda, lived on a 40-acre estate in Almora, in the north-west of India, where they maintained an ashram and studied painting, Buddhist studies and meditation.