Mithila Paintings and Journey of women

By Manisha jha
Abstract

Name of painting- Kohbar, by Manisha jha
Visual images of India call to mind immense diversity, in form, colour, expression
and emotions evoked in their multiplicity. They fill up the socio-cultural fabric of the
sub-continent called India. It is this variety which that distinguishes Indias cultural
identity. Its physical, religious and ethnic multiplicity is as immense as its linguistic
diversity. Underneath this diversity lies the continuity of Indian civilization and social
structure from the very earliest times until the present day.

Continuity in a tradition formed the basis of folk art as it did of folklore. Craftsmanship
was not a part of an artists training rather an inheritance that was imbibed much as
stories from childhood. Retaining familiar motifs and pragmatic forms, little or
practically no change in execution techniques, the artisan took to the narration of
personal histories, much as each story that got a twist by the narrator, the art form
evolved while retaining its tradition basis. One may thus safely presume that
traditional rural arts in India were stimulated by functional purpose and ritualistic
connotations as indeed by individual creativity and recreational urge. Mithila
1
was a
large and powerful ancient kingdom in what are now north-eastern India and
southern tarai region of Nepal. One of the most powerful capitals of eastern India the
region is a vast plain reaching out in north towards the tarai regions bordering Nepal,
to the south caressing the shores of Ganges and stretching out in west towards
Bengal
The women folk of this region have been practicing this folk art for centuries primarily
to consecrate space around their habitation, during rituals. They used to compose
elaborate wall paintings (Fig.-2) or Bhitti-chitra, floor paintings or Aripan
2
on their
mud homes. These paintings were passed
from one generation to other without any
formal training but naturally as daily chore
activity. This art is the biggest example of
community living where a whole cluster of
women in the aangna/courtyard or village
took part in writing the Kohbar Ghar
3
Fig.-1
(the bridal chamber) and Gosain Ghar
4
Fig.-3
(the family deity room).
Figure2DurgaandSaraswatiPaintedonwallby
ManishaJha
Even though they have been practising the art
form for centuries
5
, it is only over the last three or
four decades that these women were accorded
recognition as artists. The evolution of Madhubani
painting is directly related to the exposure gained
by the women artists during their journeys from
their confined anganas (courtyards) Fig.-4, to
galleries and museums across the world. The
journey began after the Bihar earthquake in 1934
resulted in a serious crisis of food and shelter in
the region. To improve the economic conditions of
the local people, the government, after
discovering this painting style peculiar to the
region, initiated women of the area to transfer
their wall paintings
6
to paper, which could
subsequently be sold through government
emporia.
Government agencies distributed paper among
the villagers and thus the wall paintings of gosain
ghar, bhagwati ghar and tulsi chauraha were discovered by the outside world. And
thence began a parallel journey for both the art and the artist. However, like most
traditional art forms, the work of the women artists remained anonymous till very late,
with few daring to put their signatures on their renderings.
In the late 1960s and 70s, with the growth of painting-on-paper for sale, women
began earning incomes that were previously unimaginable. In many cases they were
Fig.3ViewoftypicalBhagwatiGhar,whichispartof
eachhouseofMithilaVillageBhojpandaul,Madhubani
Distt.Bihar

Fig.4ViewoftypicalAnganaCourtyard,which
isamultipurposearea.VillageSatlakha,
MadhubaniDistt.,Bihar.
able to retain their incomes and use it for the schooling of their daughters, and for
better food and clothing for their children or themselves. For many it was an
empowering experience. And at least in some cases, the families of young women
who were talented painters did not have to pay dowry, or as much dowry, while
getting married. Well-known painters were also invited to travel to fairs and
exhibitions elsewhere in India, as well as internationally to countries like J apan
7
,
Europe, the United States and Russia. They usually brought a son or husband along
to assist them, but success in painting meant both new income and greater social
statuslocally, nationally and internationallyand mobility.
My paper tries to look at the growth of Mithila paintings across the world along with
the growth of women of that region. This painting tradition is biggest example of
women empowerment. It is very surprising and interesting to see women moving
away from their aangna (courtyard), and moving to different countrys of the world
through their art. My paper would look at the change in material use, subject and
aesthetics. It is very interesting to note the change in materials like the colours
obtained from flora and fauna growing around their houses and the use of chemical
colours at present.
Being a Mithila painter myself, I have experienced this change myself as I have seen
my grandmother using colors in pudia
8
available in local market. Aripan was always
done with pithar i.e. wet rice paste.




Recognition as an Art Form
The Madhubani / Maithali art form has come a
long way from where it began. A turning point in
the journey began in 1934, when the wall
paintings were discovered by William and Mildred
Archer
9
, who took photographs and bought them
to the notice of art collectors, scholars and
government agencies. Between the 1950s70s,
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, promoted the art
form in a big way and encouraged artists personally by commissioning their works
for the prime ministers official residence. During the same years Bhasker Kulkarni
and Upendra Maharathi
10
managed to convince some of the artists to paint on paper
and travel across the country to publicise the art form. At this point Pupul J aykar,
Chairperson of the Crafts and Handicrafts Board, also contributed significantly by
assigning commissioned works to the artists in Delhi.
In the 1970s and 1980s, scholars like Erica Moser
11
and Yves Weguard
12
influenced
the godana (tattoo) style of paintings. Others like Raymond and Naomi
13
Owens
bought large numbers of paintings and sold them across the world; they also
encouraged artists to develop the narrative style.
Materials like paper and colours were supplied to these artists free of cost and the
resulting work was sold through government handicraft shops all over the country.
As a result these works became famous as Madhubani Paintings. Women of the
region still paint on the walls and floors of their houses but almost every artist
nowadays, sometimes men too, paint on paper enabling their art to be sold around
the world.
Fig.5,Treeoflife(partpainting)AcryliconCanvasby
UrmilaDevi(w/oBilatPasman)5x4,Collectiontheartist.
Liberation through Art
Mithila had a very conservative society where women never went out of their
aangna/ courtyard. There was a very clear demarcation of inside- outside activities
done by male and female members of the family. Specially, women from upper caste
Brahmin and Kayastha family could never think of going to the village haat
14

(market).Society was much liberal for the Dalit women, may be because they had no
option but to work on fields and other household works in big families.
In such harsh social conditions five women artists from J itwarpur, Ranti and
Raseedpur villages came forward to work on paper given by Bhaskar Kulkarni.
These brave women were Sita Devi, J agdumba Devi, Mahasundari Devi, J amuna
Devi, Palti Devi. Following their foot prints Godavri Dutt and Bauwa Devi joined
them. Even Today, when I sit under a tree in my village, it gives me goose pimples
thinking about the journey of this art and the artists as, Mithila still has very
conservative society.
The Mithila artists painted on common
themes, however, preferences differed
according to caste. The three different schools
of Madhubani paintings can be classified into
three types according to style and caste:
Brahmin -Bharni style
Kayastha -Katchni style
Goidana-Tattoo style of
the Harijan community.
Fig.6,StoriesofPanchtantra(partdetailfromthepanchatantraseries)
AcryliconCanvas,7x7,byManishaJha

Bharni Paintings
Sita Devi a Mahapatra Brahmin was the
pioneer in developing the Bharni
15
style of
colour painting. The Brahmin style of painting
lavishly deals with rich variety of colours.
Their easy access to Hindu sacred literature
like Ramayana and Mahabharata helped
them immensely in portraying the rich Hindu
iconography and mythology. All artists of that
time could orally recite the whole epic. This
style is locally known as Bharni, which means
filling. The Bharni style of painting is bold and colourful, with rich line work around
the coloured forms. The exposure of Brahmin painters to rich Hindu iconography and
mythology helped them to develop forms and subjects very easily. The common
subjects were Vishnu, kaali (Fig.-7), Durga, shri Krishna and all the gods and
goddesses.
Sita Devi hailed from J itwarpur village of Madhubani
district. Apart from drawing traditional Kohbar paintings she
painted scenes from nature like lion in the jungle which is
presently in collection of Craft Museum
16
, New-Delhi. Sita
Devi was invited to paint the walls of Prime Minister Indira
Gandhis office at New Delhi. She was not only nationally
recognized; she travelled extensively in Europe and
America and presented her works at various cultural fairs

Fig.7,Kaali,PostercoloronHandmadePaper,22x30
ByManishaJha,collectionManisha
Fig.8,SitaDevi,TheTribuneThursday,
December15,2005,Chandigarh,India
and exhibitions. After seeing Sita Devis success many other Mahapatra Brahmin
women from J itwarpur, and adjoining villages, came forward to present their art.
Among them Baua Devi inherited her style quiet flawlessly. She is also one of the
most dynamic painters in the history of Mithila paintings, known for her paintings on
snakes. Her works are part of many prestigious museums of
the world

.

Fig.10,SitaDevipresentingpaintingtothen
PrimeMinisterMrs.IndiraGandhi,Year1969

Fig.9,ArtistBauaDevi,PaintingonMahabharat
atIndiraGandhiNationalCentreforArt
PhotocreditManishaJha
Fig.11,MaataKunti,withherfivesons,fromthe
Mahabhartaseries,AcryliconCanvas,22x7,by
ManishaJha
IncollectionofJanpadSampada,IndiraGandhi
NationalCentreforArt
Fig.12,WeddingofMaataKuntiwithKingPandu
AcryliconCanvas,22x7,incollectionofJanpadSampada,IndiraGandhi
National centre for Art
Kayastha Katchni style of paintings
In the beginning when Mithila paintings were
being done on paper only a few Brahmin
women took the opportunity to practice this
art form. However, a decade later some
women from the Kayastha
17
community,
attracted by the name, fame and money the
art brought with it, came forward with a new
style. The women from the Kayastha
community started to work on line paintings.
The unique feature of the Kayastha tradition was the use of monochrome or just two
colours. Locally these paintings were known as line paintings. These paintings were
also famous as Katchni
18
paintings since, all the forms which were drawn were filled
with different type of rendering instead of filling colours. The pioneer of this style of
painting was Ganga Devi, from Raseedpur village of Madhubani district. This style of
painting evolved more in Ranti village of Madhubani district. In this style the subject
were more or less same the difference was in the way the whole paper was covered
by different types of line work.



Fig.13,Kaali,InkonHandmadePaperbyBimlaDutt,whoisone
ofthePioneersofKachnipaintingsfromRantivillageof
MadhubaniDistt.

Fig.14,StoriesofGonuJha
AcryliconCanvas,3x4
ByManishaJha,Narrativeformofpaintings
developedwithintroductionofpaperandfinekalam
Tattoo Painting of Dusadh community
The success of Brahmin and Kayastha
women painters inspired women from the
lower caste to paint. Mostly all Dusadh
being landless, they survived on service
given to the upper caste.
The dalit/tattoo paintings evolved due to
the inner urge of dalit women to do something to increase their household income.
After seeing the success of higher caste women, and on the initiations of outsiders
like Bhasker Kulkarni and German anthropologist Erica Moser, Dalit women started
painting on paper. J amuna Devi, of the Chamar community of J itwarpur village was
the first Dalit woman to enter the area of commercialized painting. She was pioneer
of tattoo or Goidana paintings.
They took form from the tattoos on their body as they were not aware of the Hindu
cosmology like the upper caste. Another reason could be the fear of upper caste, as
They began to draw on their vibrant folklore, retold through legends, songs and
rituals associated with the Rahu, Sun, Moon and their legendary cultural hero, Raja
Sailesh
19
.
From Mud Walls to Paper-----Colours and
Materials used
For centuries women of Mithila have been
painting on the interior walls of Bhagwati ghar
(family deity room), Kohbar ghar and on the
floor of the courtyard. The paintings on wall
Fig.15,WeddingsofMithila,AcryliconCanvas,6x6by
UrmilaDeviPasman,collectionManishaJha
Fig.16,MudfloorbeingpreparedformakingAripanduring
thefestivalsandforritualceremonies
were colourful with bold forms and rich bright colours. Whereas, the paintings on
paper became more intricate, obviously because of smooth surface of paper minute
nib work was possible.
The artist depended on the natural surroundings for extracting the colour Most of the
colours were obtained from the flora growing around, from clay and minerals, barks
of trees like peepal, and other local flowers and seeds. It is quite interesting to note
that the main subjects painted were related to nature, and nature inspired and
supplied material to these women to paint. Gods and goddesses and rituals were the
main subjects and had an important role to play in the colour used. The main colours
used were pink, red, chrome yellow, lemon yellow, Persian blue, orange, green,
black and white.
A fabric or a piece of rag was generally used for preparing the wall, floor and paper.
Cow dung was applied both with hands and cloth on wall and floor. This technique is
called potna. In the early Mithila paintings, a small piece of cloth was tied on a twig
to apply wet colour.
Kalam is the Sanskrit word for pen, which is also known as qalam in Persian.
Charusmita Gupta
20
in her Indian folk and Tribal Paintings explains that since the
basic purpose of a pen is to write and not paint, painting by pen in many folk
communities was known likhiya. The Kayastha women used fine nib and holder to do
fine line paintings on paper. Most women artists of early and mid seventies used
twigs to paint, which was conveniently discarded after use. In late seventies and
early eighties with exposure to larger world painters like Ganga Devi
21
, Sita Devi
breaking their traditional thought process moved on to paint their experiences in
different countries away from their ritual set up. Though they did not change their
technique or colours used, these artists began to use different painting tools. Ganga
Devi who used reed kalam switched to ink pen and chemical ink. Of late, painters
have started using poster, fabric and acrylic colours, colours that are much more
durable and easily available.
Change of material from mud walls to paper bought
1. Lot of freedom of expression
2. Intricacy of art
3. Respect and recognition for women
It bought visibility of art and artist to the outer
world, as paintings on paper could be
transported very easily and could be exhibited
in different museums across the globe very
easily

Globalization and Changing Nature of
Womens Life
Women Empowerment
The domestic routine expressions of the Mithila
painters were transformed into art, empowering
them both spiritually and economically. Most of
the artists discovered their hidden power through
their artistic expressions. As Heera Kanth an artist
from Ranti village recalls that I got married
because of my paintings, painting is my son.
Fig.17,TheGoldenDeer(fromtheRamayanaseries)
AcryliconCanvas,2008,CollectionofManishaJha
Fig.18,groupofwomenworkingtogether,withintroduction
ofnewmaterials,andexposureofwomentodifferentcities
thecastesystemexistinginthepaintingstylehastotally
merged.
The sale of paintings brought economic freedom to women(Fig.-19). The women
whose world was confined to their courtyard or Bhagwati ghar, slowly moved out to
urban areas like Delhi, Bombay, J apan, and United States. They became decision-
makers of their house. They contributed to their childrens education and in
constructing pucca (permanent) houses for their families. Sita Devi, as a pioneer of
this painting tradition, epitomizes the art form which not only changed her life but
also that of her village. It was because of these
women artists that villages like J itwarpur, Ranti
and Raseedpur in Madhubani district became
world famous. Sita Devis son used to travel with
her and assist her in most of her commissioned
works. Chandrakala Devi, a fisherwoman and now
an established Mithila painter believes that Kamla
mai is always with me after the murder of her husband she could support her four
daughters and old in-laws just because of her inner strength and prosperity which
her paintings bought to her. Today with her hard work she has been encouraging
and guiding women of the upper caste who have been coming to her for guidance
after seeing her success. Similarly, Urmila Devi wife of Bilto, the Goidana painter of
J itwarpur village, is the pathfinder for all her five children who have been assisting
her in her work and have taken up painting as a full time profession. Today, Urmila
(Fig.-20) has the confidence of talking to all the sahebs (officers of handicraft office)
and her husband Bilto is very happy escorting her to all the exhibitions. She says
quite fondly that it is because of her paintings that the younger generation do not
mind having a cup of tea with me .

Fig.19 Womensellingtheirworksthroughexhibition.
Baua Devi married off all five daughters of hers in to
decent families with her income. Today, four of her
children are well settled in Delhi along with their
mother. All her children including her son-in-law
have taken to their mothers business. Godavri Dutt
the most famous painter from Ranti Village shares a
similar story. After her husband left her she never looked back in life. She was the
main decision maker and financer in settling her only son and getting all her
granddaughters educated and married in to good families.
Today, many painters like Baua Devi, Shanti Devi, Heera Kanth and many unknown
artists have taken the bold decision of shifting to Delhi. They are all doing
commissioned works and exhibiting their works in government exhibitions.

Paintings by Men
Seeing the success of the women, several menwho had never participated in the
ritually oriented wall paintingsalso began painting on paper, though most depicted
secular images. The first of the men were a family of Tantric priests who produced
paintings on the avtaars of Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti along with their yantras. Since
1980, Krishnanand J ha has been painting these images along with paintings on
episodes from the Ramayana and Krishna Leela. Following the footsteps of his
father his son, popularly known as Goluji, has been painting trees and animals.
(paintings by Krishnanadjee and his son)
Another artist, Gopal Saha, who also started painting around 1980, is known for his
paintings done on local subjects like an overcrowded bus, train etc. As compared to

Fig.20,UrmilaDeviPasman,VillageJitwarpur,
MadhubaniDistt.
the paintings by Krishnanand J ha his paintings are very bright with distinct line work.
He is one of the most imaginative painters who have been doing very contemporary
topics. Gopal is assisted by his two sons in completing his works. It is quite
interesting to note that several husbands have left their works and have joined their
wives, helping them in selling their paintings.
Conclusion
The emerging demand from tourists, scholars, and elite urban collectors has
contributed in developing individual styles. It is very important for cultural critics and
public intellectuals to understand that this commercialization is not destroying Mithila
painting. In fact, since last forty years Mithila painters have been expressing their
personal experiences in their works. As said earlier it is changing with the change in
environment, education level and personal experiences of individual artists. Mithila
painting is a very powerful medium of visual arts which has affected many urban
artists, designers, students and research scholars all over the world. It is very
interesting to note that Mithila painting is one of the rare folk art which has not
stagnated unlike patachitra, tanjore paintings; it is a living art which is growing
everyday with the growth of its artists. Two types of markets are emerging one is the
mass produced section of Mithila paintings seen in stacks at Dilli Haat and other craft
bazaars and other section is the contemporary Mithila paintings which are finding
very comfortable space in art galleries all over the world. I believe very strongly that
Mithila paintings and its artist have broken the barrier where folk art and
contemporary art are seen differently.


1. Mithila Mithila the present day Bihar was named after their princess
Maithili i.e. Sitaji. As per the folktales it is believed that king J anak ordered
all the people to decorate their houses with paintings on the walls. It is also
believed that Goddess Parvati herself painted the Kohbar Ghar of Lord Rama
and Goddess Sita.
2. Aripan The Maithili word Aripan stems from the Sanskrit alepana which
derives from the root lip, meaning to smear, and therefore basically refers to
smearing the ground with cowdung for ritual purification. In Mithila Aripan is
made of wet rice paste with four fingers.
3. Kohbar Ghar Mithila has a tradition of four day wedding, all the rituals which
take place in the room mostly in the North Eastern part of the house is known
as Kohbar Ghar. On the Eastern wall of the Kohbar Ghar, Kohbar painting is
done.
4. Gosain Ghar Every house hold in Mithila has a separate deity room
(Kuldevta) this room is known as Gosain Ghar.
5. Centuries It is believed that Mithila paintings have being practiced since the
time of Ramayana and has been coming down generations orally from
mothers to daughters.
6. Wall paintings Following the disastrous earthquake in 1934, William G.
Archer, the local colonial sub-divisional officer, discovered the wall paintings
existing in different households of Mithilanchal. He photographed these
paintings and his photographs were the earliest documentation of the wall
paintings in 1930s.
7. J apan J apan is the only country which has a Mithila museum started by
Tokio Hasegawa, the founder of Mithila museum in Niigata, J apan. He
commissioned all the early Mithila Painters from Ganga Devi, Karpoori Devi,
etc. To stay and paint in the Museum.
8. Pudia color powder folded in piece of paper is locally known as pudia.
9. William and Mildred Archer Archer and later his wife Milderd, also donated
to the British Libarary a set of Aide memories said to be from the 1920s to
1940s, use by woman to help in painting the marriage chamber, as well as 12
paintings dated 1967-1975.
10. Bhasker Kulkarni and Upendra Maharathi He was a Bombay based artist,
who was commissioned by All India Handicraft Board to go to the district town
of Madhubani and to encourage local women to put their paintings on paper
so they might sell them as a new source of family income.
11. Erica Moser was a German scholar, who stayed in J itwarpur and has a big
contribution in development of Godana painting and tattoo painting.
12. Yves Weguard He was a French collector who visited villages of Madhubani
Distt. Several times and collected painting from different artists. Although the
painting in his book are from early Mithila painter but the inferences made by
him are not correct. Women Painters of Mithila. London. Thames and
Hudson. (Also 1976 in French).
13. Raymond and Naomi Raymond and his wife Naomi Owens, who spent
many months with the painter between 1977 and 2000. He was one of the
main collectors of this art.
14. Haat The village market is locally known as Haat.
15. Bharni The filling of colors within a particular form is known as Bharni, the
colored Brahmin paintings were known as Bharni painting.

16. & 21. Craft Museum Ganga Devi the pioneer of Kachni paintings was given
very prominent presence in the museum by the then director J yotindra J ain.
Refer J AIN, J YOTINDRA. 1997. Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in
Mithila Painting. Ahmedabad, Mapin.
17. Kayastha The money lender community whose women painted the
monochrome or the line painting.
18. Katchni The breaking of forms through different techniques of line is locally
known as Katchni.
19. Raja Sailesh The local god worship by the dalit community, J AIN,
J YOTINDRA. 1995. The Bridge of Vermilion: Narrative Rhythm in the Dusadh
Legends of Mithila. In Indian Painting: Essays in Honour of Karl J.
Khandalavala. Ed. B.N. Goswamy and Usha Bhatia. Lalit Kala Akademi, New
Delhi. 207-22.
20. Charusmita Gupta Indian Folk and Tribal paintings, published by Roli Books
2008.
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