MARCH

artists to record the paintings of the
marriage of his daughter Sita that
eventually gave rise to this style of
painting. Traditionally during any festival
of ceremonial occasion, the women
would paint the walls of the houses and
huts with these paintings. The beautifully
painted colorful walls were indicative of
some sacred ceremony, festive season or
good times and important occasions.
They have wide-ranging themes
including scenes from Hindu mythology
that still rule these paintings. Amongst
the most commonly executed themes in
the Madhubani paintings are the events
from Ramayana and life of Krishna.
Other deities as well reappear in the
paintings repeatedly. The Ardhanariswar
is an area of expertise of Mithila paintings
of India. Madhubani paintings of India
also esteem the sun and moon and treat
them as subjects of holiness.
Often, scenes of rural life are also
depicted in these paintings. Women
indulged in various village activities
Traditionally during any festival of
ceremonial occasion, the women would
paint the walls of the houses and huts
with these paintings. The beautifully
painted colorful walls were indicative of
some sacred ceremony, festive season
or good times and important occasions.
such as carrying baskets on their heads,
drawing water from a well, or a village
hobo playing a flute are general themes
of these types. A number of symbolic
paintings also flourish, the tree telling life
and vivacity and the fish symptomatic of
fertility are the most common symbols of
Madhubani art.
The women don’t use camel hair
brushes to create their works of art, but
use only plain, slatted bamboo sticks with
wads of cotton to apply the paint. “The
colours are made from vegetable dyes or
are of natural origin and are prepared by
the women themselves. Black is made by
mixing soot with cow dung, yellow from
turmeric, blue from indigo, red from red
sandalwood, green from leaves and white
from rice paste. The black outlines are
drawn first and then the colour is filled
into the spaces.
It is said during 1966-68, a prolonged
drought struck Madhubani and the
neighboring region of Mithila. A new
source of non-agricultural income had
to be found to keep these people away
from the pangs of hunger. The All India
Handicrafts Board encouraged the
women artists to create their paintings
on handmade paper for commercial
purposes. For the market, the work is
done on handmade paper or cloth treated
with cow dung to give it its distinctive
look and identity.
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