Primeval Art - Madhubani

A few of you all know, my second most hobby apart from writing is Art. Today I am going to tell you a few facts about the very oldest, most famous and most widely appreciated art form of India - Madhubani Art. I started doing Madhubani painting during the pandemic time. Once I started, I couldn't stop for one or two. Now there are quite a few paintings I have done. Of late I started gaining interest in this eye-catching art and studied a few facts and was thrilled to know more and more about this. This art form replicates ancient India and its culture.

This art form is practised in the Mithila region of the Indian Subcontinent.  It originated from the Madhubani district of the Mithila region of Bihar. Maithili is a language, so enriched with culture and values that it exudes the sweetness of honey. Madhubani derives its name from the abundance of honey collected in the nearby forest. It is the land which is fabled as the kingdom of Janaki and the adobe of mother Sita. The origin of Madhubani paintings is quite unknown. However, it is believed that king Janak, ruler of the Mithila kingdom during the 7th or 8th century BCE, asked to develop this kind of painting to capture the moments of his daughter Sita's wedding to prince Ram. 

Each village here has a history which is centuries old, a culture which reflects the Vedic era and mostly agricultural as their economy. It was traditionally created by the women folks of various communities of the Mithila region. Madhubani is also a major export centre of these paintings. Artists create these paintings using a wide variety of mediums, including fingers, twigs, nib-pens and matchsticks. In the olden days, these paintings were done traditionally on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts. But now it is done on cloth, handmade paper and canvas. Traditionally these paintings are done with a paste of powdered rice. The paint is created using natural dyes and pigments. 

As far as I have seen Madhubani paintings mostly depict people and their association with nature, rituals, and deities from the ancient epics. They include natural objects in this art form like - the sun, and the moon, religious plants like tulsi which are widely used along with scenes from the royal court, and social events like weddings. In these paintings generally, no space is left empty and the gaps are filled by pictures of trees, flowers, animals, birds etc, using vibrant colours. As this art has its roots in the Mithila region, hence it is also called Mithila art or Mithila painting. I get amazed to see such beautiful and oldest artwork is still kept alive and practised in institutions spread across the Mithila region. 

Madhubani art is later classified into 5 different types. As I read more about the below-mentioned types of art and compared my paintings which are done in the last 3 years of my association with this art, was amazed to see and relate my paintings with these different styles. Below are the classification of these different types of art, as well as a few of my Madhubani paintings - 

1. Bhrani Style:- Bharani is a Hindi word that means "filling" This art form was traditionally used for portraying Hindu deities and their historical contribution to Indian mythology.

2. Katchni Style:- It has a unique Individual style, mainly made using monochrome or only two colours. These paintings primarily depict animals, flowers and gods.

3. Godan Style:- The discovery of Godan Madhubani painting is believed to be done with the use of bamboo pen and Kajal to make designs. The straightforward method in the Mithila art style.

4. Tantrik style:- This style represents the traditional and religious texts in a very precise manner. People in India generally involve these paintings in their homes or on any special occasion for prayers with firm faith.

5. Kobar style:- These paintings mainly depict Hindu wedding ceremonies, and they are primarily made on the walls of the bride and groom's home.

Few of my Madhubani paintings - 

For me, the face of art is somewhat like that of the sun. It does not communicate but it gives.  There are so many other ancient art forms in India, which are widely practised and preserved till date. For example -  

• Pattachitra Painting
• Kalam Painting 
• Madhubani Painting
• Mandana Painting
• Kalamkari Painting
• Pithora Painting

Apart from the above-mentioned art forms, the oldest Indian paintings are Rock Art in caves which are 30,000 years old, such as the Bhimbetka cave paintings. It is so amazing to see such wide dimensions  our culture and tradition holds. For me, India is a country in which every religion, tradition, custom, and value finds its home. India is a place where colour is doubly bright. Pink that scalds your eyes, blues you could drown in. That is why it is called Incredible India. Proud to be an Indian.