An Art form rooted in Ramayan
Madhubani Painting
We all have heard about the art form Madhubani. Closing our eyes we can imagine the mythological characters of ancient period. But have we ever think how this beautiful art form started ? Where is the root of the art form ? So lets find out it today in my very first blog.
Madhubani Painting by Ishani Misra (me)
What is Madhubani Art ?
Women of the Mithila region have painted the walls and floors of their homes with Madhubani paintings to celebrate occasions such as religious festivals, births, and marriages. Madhubani paintings are characterized by prominent borders, bright colors and notably outlined bold and beautiful figures. Since these paintings are originally drawn on mud walls, the colors used are mainly derived from nature. The contents of the paintings mainly include the events and deities from ancient epics, the religious festivities, cultural and traditional practices, social structure, auspicious occasions, people and their relationship with nature.Madhubani is said to have rooted in the times of the Indian epic Ramayana. There is a popular story describing the origin of Madhubani painting. During the wedding of Sita with Ram, King Janaka of Mithila asked the people of his kingdom to paint the walls and the courtyards of their houses with beautiful paintings. The paintings depicting the culture, traditions and everyday lives of the people of Mithila so that the visitors could get glimpses about their lifestyle. As such, Mithila paintings became an intrinsic part of the everyday life of the people.
The mud walls of the huts in the villages served as the canvas to this art form for centuries and thus helped these paintings to gracefully stand the test of time.
Origin of the art :
Madhubani painting Madhubani or Mithila painting is a folk art of the Mithila region. The Mithila region includes the north of Bihar and the eastern Terai of Nepal.
Originated thousands of years ago, it is still holding a remarkable place among other art forms across the globe.Madhubani paintings are traditionally done by women painters from the Mithila region. They live in a small society, and every mother teaches her daughter the art of making Madhubani paintings.is one of the most recognised ancient art forms of India.
Discovery Of Mahubani Painting :
In the present context, Madhubani painting tradition was discovered by William G. Archer, a British colonial officer of the Madhubani district in 1934, when a massive earthquake hit Bihar. He chanced upon these paintings in the interior walls of the houses. He then housed a repository of much better quality and wider themed Madhubani paintings.
Themes, Colours and Symbols:
The themes for the paintings differ depending on the function or the event that they are painted for. However, the central theme remains love and fertility. All deities of the hindu pantheon and the rural local traditions can be found in the art.
Some of the favoured subjects are – bride surrounded by fishes and other auspicious symbols, bridegroom wearing his nuptial crown, hunting and ploughing scenes, trees, animals, etc.
A special chamber called Kohbar is made during the wedding ceremonies. At times even the floor would be painted, serving purpose similar to that of Alpana from Bengal. According to Mildred Archer:
“The subject matter of these paintings can be divided into two types. There are firstly the gods who bring their blessings to the bridal pair – Shiva and Kali and Ganesh. To these are sometimes added the figures of bride and bridegroom and their attendants. In the second place are various symbols of prosperity – elephants, fish, parrots, turtles, the sun and moon, a bamboo tree and a great circular lotus flower. These symbols will, it is hoped, bring good fortune to the young couple and bless them with children.”
Traditionally the colours were prepared by the women themselves. Burnt jawar or kajal was used for black; turmeric or chuna mixed with milk from banyan tree for yellow; pailash flower for orange; kusum flower for red; bilva leaf for green. However today the readymade colours from bazaars are used. This has led to a richer and wider palette.
The colours are governed by the five basic elements of life – earth, water, fire, sky, and air. These are denoted by various shades; earth by yellow, water by white, fire by red, sky by blue and air by black. These elements are also explained using three basic forms – triangle, circle and square. A triangle that has its tip towards the sky denotes fire and the one with its tip downwards depict water. Square depicts the earth. The circumference of the circle is used to denote air, while the inner portion depicts sky. Sky and air, fire and water are inter-related. All these forms emerge from a bindu, which represents Shiva and Shakti. A mishra bindu is formed when the formless Shiva visualises his form in Shakti.
The wall paintings are executed in three walls of the houses:
- Gosai ghar or room of the family deity
- Kohbar ghar or room of the newly wed couples
- Verandah outside the Kohbar ghar, used as a room for visitors
Some significant symbols in madhubani paintings are:
- Parijat – Symbol of reproduction and fertility
- Two peacocks – Symbol of eternity
- Elephant aripana – Symbol of successful pregnancy
- Lotus aripana – Signifies sexual energy
- Circle aripana – God of creation
- Parrot aripana – Symbol of kama
- Snake – Power of regeneration
- Mandalas – To evoke love among the newly-weds.
Madhubani Paintings today
In today’s date, Madhubani history paintings are not just restricted to the clay walls or other artefacts but also grace the surfaces of various home decor items and accessories. Since Madhubani paintings give the urban yet hip look to any object, they are quite often the preferred choice of the art form on various occasions, especially while decorating one’s home or office. Also, they make excellent gifts on numerous occasions. One can’t resist these bright and simplistic paintings, and so they are often the safe choice for deciding on a gift for friends or family. Across the globe, Madhubani paintings are admired today. Museums like the Arts and Crafts Museum in New Delhi, the Chandradhari Mithila Museum in Darbhanga, the Museum of Sacred Art in Belgium, the Mithila Museum in Japan, and the Museum of Norway hold large collections of Madhubani paintings. Apart from that, many contemporary artists practice Madhubani style painting as part of their experimentation with visual linguistics, as well as for pure pleasure. The simplicity and liveliness of Madhubani paintings appeal equally to scholars as well as avid art collectors, ethnic art promoters as well as laymen with hardly any exposure to fine arts nuances.
We all have heard about the art form Madhubani. Closing our eyes we can imagine the mythological characters of ancient period. But have we ever think how this beautiful art form started ? Where is the root of the art form ? So lets find out it today in my very first blog.
What is Madhubani Art ?
Women of the Mithila region have painted the walls and floors of their homes with Madhubani paintings to celebrate occasions such as religious festivals, births, and marriages. Madhubani paintings are characterized by prominent borders, bright colors and notably outlined bold and beautiful figures. Since these paintings are originally drawn on mud walls, the colors used are mainly derived from nature. The contents of the paintings mainly include the events and deities from ancient epics, the religious festivities, cultural and traditional practices, social structure, auspicious occasions, people and their relationship with nature.Madhubani is said to have rooted in the times of the Indian epic Ramayana. There is a popular story describing the origin of Madhubani painting. During the wedding of Sita with Ram, King Janaka of Mithila asked the people of his kingdom to paint the walls and the courtyards of their houses with beautiful paintings. The paintings depicting the culture, traditions and everyday lives of the people of Mithila so that the visitors could get glimpses about their lifestyle. As such, Mithila paintings became an intrinsic part of the everyday life of the people.
The mud walls of the huts in the villages served as the canvas to this art form for centuries and thus helped these paintings to gracefully stand the test of time.
Origin of the art :
Madhubani painting Madhubani or Mithila painting is a folk art of the Mithila region. The Mithila region includes the north of Bihar and the eastern Terai of Nepal.
Originated thousands of years ago, it is still holding a remarkable place among other art forms across the globe.Madhubani paintings are traditionally done by women painters from the Mithila region. They live in a small society, and every mother teaches her daughter the art of making Madhubani paintings.is one of the most recognised ancient art forms of India.
Discovery Of Mahubani Painting :
In the present context, Madhubani painting tradition was discovered by William G. Archer, a British colonial officer of the Madhubani district in 1934, when a massive earthquake hit Bihar. He chanced upon these paintings in the interior walls of the houses. He then housed a repository of much better quality and wider themed Madhubani paintings.
Themes, Colours and Symbols:
The themes for the paintings differ depending on the function or the event that they are painted for. However, the central theme remains love and fertility. All deities of the hindu pantheon and the rural local traditions can be found in the art.
Some of the favoured subjects are – bride surrounded by fishes and other auspicious symbols, bridegroom wearing his nuptial crown, hunting and ploughing scenes, trees, animals, etc.
A special chamber called Kohbar is made during the wedding ceremonies. At times even the floor would be painted, serving purpose similar to that of Alpana from Bengal. According to Mildred Archer:
“The subject matter of these paintings can be divided into two types. There are firstly the gods who bring their blessings to the bridal pair – Shiva and Kali and Ganesh. To these are sometimes added the figures of bride and bridegroom and their attendants. In the second place are various symbols of prosperity – elephants, fish, parrots, turtles, the sun and moon, a bamboo tree and a great circular lotus flower. These symbols will, it is hoped, bring good fortune to the young couple and bless them with children.”
Traditionally the colours were prepared by the women themselves. Burnt jawar or kajal was used for black; turmeric or chuna mixed with milk from banyan tree for yellow; pailash flower for orange; kusum flower for red; bilva leaf for green. However today the readymade colours from bazaars are used. This has led to a richer and wider palette.
The colours are governed by the five basic elements of life – earth, water, fire, sky, and air. These are denoted by various shades; earth by yellow, water by white, fire by red, sky by blue and air by black. These elements are also explained using three basic forms – triangle, circle and square. A triangle that has its tip towards the sky denotes fire and the one with its tip downwards depict water. Square depicts the earth. The circumference of the circle is used to denote air, while the inner portion depicts sky. Sky and air, fire and water are inter-related. All these forms emerge from a bindu, which represents Shiva and Shakti. A mishra bindu is formed when the formless Shiva visualises his form in Shakti.
The wall paintings are executed in three walls of the houses:
- Gosai ghar or room of the family deity
- Kohbar ghar or room of the newly wed couples
- Verandah outside the Kohbar ghar, used as a room for visitors
Some significant symbols in madhubani paintings are:
- Parijat – Symbol of reproduction and fertility
- Two peacocks – Symbol of eternity
- Elephant aripana – Symbol of successful pregnancy
- Lotus aripana – Signifies sexual energy
- Circle aripana – God of creation
- Parrot aripana – Symbol of kama
- Snake – Power of regeneration
- Mandalas – To evoke love among the newly-weds.
Madhubani Paintings today
In today’s date, Madhubani history paintings are not just restricted to the clay walls or other artefacts but also grace the surfaces of various home decor items and accessories. Since Madhubani paintings give the urban yet hip look to any object, they are quite often the preferred choice of the art form on various occasions, especially while decorating one’s home or office. Also, they make excellent gifts on numerous occasions. One can’t resist these bright and simplistic paintings, and so they are often the safe choice for deciding on a gift for friends or family. Across the globe, Madhubani paintings are admired today. Museums like the Arts and Crafts Museum in New Delhi, the Chandradhari Mithila Museum in Darbhanga, the Museum of Sacred Art in Belgium, the Mithila Museum in Japan, and the Museum of Norway hold large collections of Madhubani paintings. Apart from that, many contemporary artists practice Madhubani style painting as part of their experimentation with visual linguistics, as well as for pure pleasure. The simplicity and liveliness of Madhubani paintings appeal equally to scholars as well as avid art collectors, ethnic art promoters as well as laymen with hardly any exposure to fine arts nuances.
