Madhubani – The folk art of Bihar

The art of Madhubani: Madhubani, or Mithila, painting is a folk art of Bihar mostly practiced by women in the remote villages of Bihar as an art form taught by a mother to her daughter, for many generations. An intricate an elaborate craft, Madhubani paintings depict not just casual motifs or picturesque designs but they draw inspiration from nature and mythology to depict different events like birth, marriage, and cycles of life. The art though has been prevalent for centuries, since the time of Raja Janak to be more precise, since the last few decades, it has suddenly caught the attention of many art lovers who took the art to several other cities of India and many of whom are experimenting and reinventing the traditional styles to modern ethos. And hence the art that was traditionally practiced by women only to decorate their huts during religious and important occasions made its way into the houses of all art lovers around the world in the form of wall paintings, curious, bedspreads and cushion covers and most popularly as sarees. The Place that inspires the art: The place that inspires this art form, the current day area of Mithila lies near the border of India and Nepal and it carries a rich cultural legacy of art and literature. Considered to be the birthplace of Sita, the eldest daughter of Raja Janak and wife of Shri Ram from Ramayana, the city boasts of hosting other celebrated figures like Buddha and Mahavir and tales comprising of events from their lives is what is depicted in this local art. Traits of Madhubani art: The paintings of Madhubani art center around mythological themes and they also revolve around folk themes like the depiction of mundane lives of the tribal like farming, women folk cooking, folk dance etc. These paintings largely emphasize on showing human emotions like valor, devotion, and fertility and hence one can find scenes of courtship and marriages in the paintings as well as symbols of fertility and prosperity like fish, parrot, elephant, turtle, sun, moon, bamboo tree, lotus, etc. in prominence. These symbols mainly form the background with central characters like gods and goddesses and human figurine taking the centre stage. The style of Madhubani paintings: Following the centuries old tradition, Madhubani paintings even today stand the test of water since they have preserved their original style that was introduced so many years ago.The paintings still use natural colors extracted from plants. Broadly classified into two styles namely Kachni meaning hatching in the local language and Bharni meaning shading, while Kachni uses delicate fine lines to fill the painting and not much color is used, Bharniuses solid colors to shade and fill the pictures. All paintings use black outlines with vibrant colors filling the intricate designs. Even today, this art form is not just viewed as piece of art but as symbol of good fortune and hence is commonly seen during births and marriage ceremonies as wall paintings to announce the occasion of the celebration.