Mona studied at Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata in 1993. She completed her Masters in Fine Arts from Biswa Bharati, Shantiniketan in 1994. In 1993, she was selected as a working artist by Lalit Kala Kendra, Kolkata. She got her post-graduate diploma in Advanced Painting from Central Saint Martins College of Fine Arts and Design, London in 1996.

Mona says that her father, A.S Mahmud, always encouraged her with her paintings. "Since I worked hard and took my studies seriously my teachers were enthusiastic about my work. I had Partho Protim, Dev Robin Mondol and Dharmanarayan Das Gupta as my teachers. At Shantiniketan I had Jogin Chowdhury and Sanat Kar as my guides. It was also my father's influencing words that told me that one could have a pleasant life despite difficulties. And those words saw me through my student days -- with the not so pleasant hostels. I enjoyed it greatly, however, when I went to the railway stations and Santal Patti while working in Kolkata and Shantiniketan. I tried to find beauty in my surroundings. I took pleasure in studying the history and aesthetics of art apart from my painting."

Her stay in England too had tremendous influence on her work. She went to museums, exhibitions and became more aware of the modern western trends in paintings. Ingrid Karma and Mike Thorpe were her teachers. While in India there is a lot of stress on "study work", as Mona puts it, in England the teachers encourage individual experimentation, and development of personal style.

Just as a river moves from place to place, Mona feels our lives affect many around us and have far reaching influences. She has brought in the symbol of the kite in some of her paintings too: She feels this is the symbol of freedom and struggle. There are many flying figures such as cats and humans. A chalk pastel, titled Powerful dream, brings in a woman surrounded by the moon seen between clumps of trees. There are also images of people floating by in boats. It is in blue, purple and white. Another work from the series shows a dreaming woman, surrounded by snakes. A third artwork features a cityscape with a kite and clouds. The figures appear naïve on purpose and the work uses chalk pastel, which Mona gets from abroad.