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Madhubani Painting

Tribal People of Bihar

Colors of Enchantment

Also called as Mithali Art, Madhubani painting originated from a small town in Bihar called Madhubani in Mithali Region. Although the time of origin of Madhubani is not clear, some say that it is as old and prevalent from the time of Ramayana when king Janak called for artists to make paintings during the marriage of her daughter Sita to Lord Ram. However it was not till mid 20th century when the Mithali region was struck by a famine, that Madhubani painting saw the outside world. It was All India Handicraft board that advised the women folk of the village to produce their paintings on handmade paper and sell them for non-agricultural incomes. Since then, Madhubani paintings have become the major source of income for most of the families in Madhubani Village.

The art form is practiced mainly by Hindu women in Madhubani Town and nearby areas. To maintain the tradition, the practices are then taught to their daughters. As the paintings were not sold or taken out of their homes, it remained largely uninfluenced by the outside world. Thus retaining the originality and uniqueness of this wonderful tribal art form. Even now, many of the magnificent works remain anonymous as the artists are either illiterate or reluctant to write their name on their creation. Some of them don't even consider it as a work of art.

Work And Designs

In the early years of Madhubani Paintings, it was done only on walls and doors of a home for welcoming the gods. People believed that deities visit their homes every morning. The practice has not faded away and even today one can see the homes in Madhubani Town painted with some splendid art works. The floors and the walls are first plastered with cow dung and mud paste. Once the surface becomes dry, painting is done with rice paste. Today, the walls are painted during a festival or special family occasions like marriage or child birth.

For commercial purposes, they are now also been done on handmade paper, cloth and canvas. The central theme for these paintings is generally images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Around them different geometrical patterns are made. Images of Sun, Moon, Tulasi Plant, wedding scenes, birds, animals and different nature images are also quite famous among the artists. One of the main feature here is that the colors are applied flat and no space is left empty.

The colors and equipments used today are exactly what they were decades ago. All natural colors are used and cotton wrapped around bamboo sticks are used as paintbrush.