Madhubani Painting - Emotions of the heartland

Madhubani Painting - Emotions of the heartland

Bihar word is derived from the ancient word "VIHARA" (monastery). It is the land where India's first major empires rose and fell. In fact, history of india started in Bihar and reached its culmination under Maurya dynasty and Ashoka. The ruins of the world’s earliest university slumbers here in the void of time.

 

Culture and art has rich tradition in Bihar and Madhubani paintings takes this tradition to the next level. Madhubani is a district in North Bihar which in literal translation means Forest of Honey (Madhu – honey, Ban – forest or woods). 

The most outstanding aspect of Madhubani Art is it has provided a platform to all strata of an otherwise caste-based society to come together and nurture creativity. The artists here do not allow caste, race or creed to hinder them in the progress of their work of art. This area is located in the Mithila region of northern Bihar and the art is also known as Mithila Paintings. 

There is little evidence available to confirm the period when Madhubani Painting started but one can be sure of one thing that it all started around the themes of Hindu Mythology and it is usually done on cow dung treated paper with natural paints. It has mainly three schools: Kayastha, Brahmin, and Godna (Tattoo).

Interestingly, Bihar has the third largest tribal population in India, which belongs to two language groups: the Austric and the Dravidian. Amazingly, both the language groups led their lives where religion played an important role in the lifestyle and tradition.

Sheer desire to please their gods and to attain a spiritual high was the key that brought in Madhubani Painting. It is the womenfolk who tried to keep alive the folk songs, folk tales, folk arts and folk crafts. It is them who have kept alive the old traditions of the rural life and this enthusiasm is passed down from mother to daughter from generations. 

In folk art, especially in painting, women play a vital role. Women do most of the Madhubani Paintings and their creativity can be interpreted and visualised from these paintings themselves. 

Like almost all other folklore around the world, there is an element of myth in the folklore of Bihar too. It consists of the tales of the origin of the earth, existence of supernatural beings like gandharvas, apsaras, morals, and cumulative and pastoral songs.

It was religious craving and the intense desire to be one with god that played a major role in the emergence of this art form. Whether it is the ancient tradition of elaborate wall paintings  (Bhitti-Chitra) such as Kohbar Ghar, Gosain Ghar and the Aripan Floor  or the more modern approach on paper it reflected the religious mindset and it captured the hearts of many.

Kohbar Ghar painting

Kohbar Ghar paintings are elaborate wall paintings of the nuptial chamber with representations of the lotus (purain), bamboo grove, fish, birds and snakes in union, which largely symbolises fertility and life. Women members of the bride’’s family paint them on the occasion of a wedding. The bride and groom spend three nights within the painted walls but are allowed to consummate the marriage only on the fourth night.

This art form of ancient India that celebrates women creativity establishes the fact that women played an equal role in capturing the imagination of humankind and can single handedly carried it forward to generation after generation keeping this art form alive. It is now our responsibility to keep it intact and pass it on as the real harbingers of hope. Mulk Raj Anand says:  “The sources of folk art of Madhubani lie on the dim areas of silence, of the approximation to the heightened moments of creation itself.”