MADHUBANI PAINTING

• HISTORY

            Madhubani art (or Mithila painting) is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent. This painting is done with a variety of tools, including fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks, and using natural dyes and pigments. It is characterized by its eye-catching geometrical patterns. There is ritual content for particular occasions, such as birth or marriage, and festivals, such as Holi, Surya Shasti, Kali Puja, Upanayana, and Durga Puja.

• STYLES

Madhubani art has five distinctive styles: Bharni, Kachni, Tantrik, Godna, and Kohbar. In the 1960s Bharni, Kachni, and Tantrik styles were mainly done by Brahman and Kayashth women, who are 'upper caste' women in India and Nepal. Their themes were mainly religious and they depicted God's and Goddess paintings. People of lower castes included aspects of their daily life and symbols, the story of Raja Shailesh [guard of the village, and much more, in their paintings. Nowadays Madhubani art has become a globalized art form, so there is no difference in the work on the basis of the caste system. They work in all five styles. Madhubani art has received worldwide attention.

• CONTRIBUTIONS

The Madhubani painting tradition played a key role in the conservation efforts in India in 2012, where there was frequent deforestation in the state of Bihar. Shashthi Nath Jha, who runs the Gram Vikas Parishad, an NGO, started the initiative as an attempt to protect local trees that were being cut down in the name of expanding roads and development. The main reason behind this was that the trees were traditionally adorned with forms of gods and other religious and spiritual images such as those of Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita, scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata and other mythologies.

• GALLERY