Some Celebrated Artists
Thanks to the demand in the international market, Mithila Painting is no longer confined
to the four walls of tradition and culture. A host of artists appeared on the scene and some of
them gained national and international popularity and acclaim in no time.
The late Jagdamba Devi and Sita Devi of village Jitwarpur and the late Ganga Devi of village Rashidpur were honoured with coveted Padmashri award for their skills. Besides, the late
Yamuna Devi, Bowa Devi, late Chandrakala Devi, Moti Karna and Satya Narain Lal Karna, all
from village Jitwarpur, won national awards.
Artists like Godavari Dutta, Maha Sundari Devi and Karpoori Devi, all from
village Ranti, Shanti Devi and Shivan Paswan from Laheriaganj and Lila
Devi of village Rashidpur bagged national awards and merit certificates.
As, Jitwarpur and Ranti villages are within a kilometre from
Madhubani, their paintings came to be known
as Madhubani Paintings.
Satyanarayan Lal Karn and Moti Karn have been working together on every painting using
natural colours from plants and vegetables. As the colours deepen with time and exposure, so
do their knowledge and experience of the craft. Satyanarayan Lal Karn has learned the craft
from his mother Jagdamba Devi, a Padmashri recipient who was the first person to put the art
on paper. Moti Karn, his wife, has learnt the skills from her mother Karpoori Devi, also a national award winner who has been to Japan to set up the Mithila Art Museum there. They also conduct workshops on traditional designs and motifs of Mithila paintings.
Today, women of all castes and communities in Mithila have been practising this creative
art to earn their livelihood.
Ganga Devi has wonderfully depicted the Ramayana episode in her paintings. She also
depicted her journey from Madhubani, a small town in north Bihar, to All India Institute of
Medical Sciences in New Delhi, where she went for treatment of cancer she was suffering from.
The train, doctors, hospital, syringe, medical ward everything she drew delicately. Her inno-
vations were excellent, appealing and unique in many respects.
Some critics, however, did not appreciate it and pleaded it might disturb the originality of
the folk painting of Mithila. But others praised Ganga Devi. For, she did not lose the originality
of her style, brush, colour, canvas and thought processes in her creativity.
Together with her brother Mitar Ram, Jamuna Devi has developed a brightly coloured style
that has no equivalent in Mithila art. Self taught Jamuna Devi does not let any rule guide her
works. Many of her paintings can be viewed upside down, a pointer to her freedom from conventions. But she strictly maintains the tradition in terms of obtaining colour, preparing background of the canvas and depicting the pictorials etc.
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