Mithila Painting or Madhubani Painting
It is an impressive work of art practised in'the interiors of Mithila region in Bihar. The exquisite play of colours betrays the rural women's arduous craftsmanship which offers a vibrant
aroma of the folk life. Not surprisingly, the paintings are in demand even in the international
market.
The tradition dates back to the age of Lord Rama. It originally pertained to decorating the
mud walls of huts. The art has now reached paper, cloth and canvas. Visit the rural corners of
Madhubani, and you will be amazed to see even three dimensional imageries created on paper
with herbal colours!
Plan your visit during the festivals or religious occasions to experience a closer view of the
magic. You can also pick up several beautiful specimens of religious themes straight from the
artisan's place to doll up your house or to make your loved ones happy. The cities though are
also dotted with government emporia selling such art works.
Folklore has it that the Mithila Painting originated when King Janak called artists to create
paintings at the time of Sita's marriage. Tulsidasa in his magnum opus, the Ramcharitamanasa,
gives a vivid account of Mithila Painting decorations for the marriage of Sita.
Mithila Painting or Madhubani Painting has been done traditionally by almost every
woman of Mithilanchal with the skill being passed on from one generation to another. The
painting was usually done at the time of religious events and other milestones of life cycle such
as birth and marriage.
Colours are derived from plants. The frequently used colours are red, green and yellow.
Mithila Painting mostly depicts nature and mythological events and the themes generally
revolve around Hindus deities like Krishna, Ram, Shiva, Kali, Durga etc. A large number of
Mithila paintings are today exported to different parts of the world.
The original Mithila Painting is an art form practised by the women of all castes and communities of the region. The women of this country since time immemorial have been involving
themselves in various forms of creativity. In their creativity one can find the relationship among
nature, culture and human psyche. They use raw materials that are available in abundance in
the locality where they live. Through folk paintings and other forms of art, they give life to their
desires, dreams and expectations. It is a parallel literacy that essays their aesthetic expressions.
Mithila Painting these days is normally done by women in three forms: painting on floor,
painting on wall and painting on movable objects. "Aripan", under the first category, is made
on the floor with the paste of "arva" or crude rice. This rice paste is called "pithaar" in the local
parlance. Apart from the floor, it is also made on banana leaves and on "peedhi" or wooden
seats.A woman or a girl does it using her right hand's fingertips.
In Tusari puja, a festival celebrated by unmarried girls to please Lord Shiva and wife Gauri
in order to get a suitable husband, an "aripan" is made with dry rice powder in white, yellow
and red colours. "Aripan" is of different types to suit different occasions. "Astadala", "sarvatob-
hadra", "dasapata" and "swastika" are its main varieties.
Wall paintings are multicoloured. Three to four colours are usually used for such paintings.
The pictures include those of carriers of fish, trees of fruits such as mango and birds like parrot
and peacock.
Attractive floral motifs adorn the wall on three sides of the entrance. Paintings on movable
objects include those on clay models of pots, elephants, birds, bamboo structure, mat, fan and
objects made of sikki. Decorative multicoloured designs made on the faces of brides also fall
in this category.
Faced with drought in the late sixties, twentieth century, some of the women were
approached to display their creativity on paper or canvas for the market. They did and it worked.
The creations got buyers in every part of the world.
Mithila Painting is now there on greeting cards, dress materials... The stylised figures, fierce
lions with electrified manes, the human profiles reminiscent of ancient Cretan pottery, the
bright native colours and all possible indigenous experiments appealed to the audience of the
World.
The colours create mood and hence played an important role. For instance, energy and
Passion find expression through the use of red and yellow, as monochrome crashed over large
surfaces of the painting. Concentration of energy and the binding force is best reflected in red
while green governs the natural leaves and vegetation. Once the paints are ready, two kinds of brushes are used one for the tiny details made out of bamboo twigs and the other for filling in space is prepared from a small piece of cloth attached to a twig.
In the beginning, homemade natural colours were obtained from plant extracts like henna
leaves, flower, bougainvillea, neem etc. These natural juices were mixed with resin from banana
leaves and ordinary gum in order to make the paint stick to the painting medium.
Homemade paints, though cheap, was time consuming and produced less than the
requirement. The solution was to switch to the synthetic colours available aplenty in the market. Now colours come in powdered form, which are then mixed with goat's milk.
The "kohabar", the chamber at the bride's home where marriage rituals are performed, is
replete with paintings based on mythologies. The paintings in this chamber are designed to
bless the couple. The central theme of all paintings here is love and fertility, though the
approach may vary.
It can commence with the story of Sita's marriage or the Krishna-Radha episode with the
ecstatic circle in which he leads the gopis. The people of Mithila, also known as Maithils, are
Shakti worshippers and, therefore, Shiva-Shakti, Kali,Durga, Ravana and Hanuman also appear
in their murals.
Symbols of fertility and prosperity like fish, parrot, elephant, turtle, sun, moon, bamboo
tree and lotus are quite prominent in the paintings. The divine beings are positioned centrally
in the frame while their consorts or mounts or simply their symbols and floral motifs form the
background.
The human figures are mostly abstract and linear in form; the animals are usually naturalistic and are invariably depicted in profile. It begins with the flow of the brush without any preliminary sketching. Though natural colours and twigs have given way to brushes and artificial
paints, the subject of Mithila paintings has not changed in a big way.
Although it is believed to be prevalent even in the time of the Ramayana, Mithila Painting
got its due recognition only after 1950s. Earlier the paintings were drawn on mud-plastered
walls during important festivals and personal ceremonies. Forcommercial purposes, today they
are made on handmade paper, canvas and different types of clothes. Images of gods and goddesses, natural subjects like sun, moon, birds, animals and scenes of wedding or other celebrations are the main themes of the painting.
Mithila Painting is more than an art. If you ask the women what they are doing, they would
respond, "We are writing...". For them, their style is a kind of script through which they communicate with the menfolk or with the people of the rest of the world.
Because of money culture, some men are also now into Mithila Painting. But in its essence
and nature, it remains a woman's creativity.
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