Immerse yourself in the world of Madhubani Paintings
Part 1 of Series - Chitra: A Journey Through India's Art.
Chitra - a word in Sanskrit and Hindi - means a painting or a picture. My series ‘Chitra: A Journey Through India’s Art’ aims to introduce Eastern art forms which may be unheard of, and most likely overlooked in the Western art world. Through this series of blog posts on Round Lemon, I will explore India’s Art and Culture in every nook and corner of the country: So fasten your seat belts and join me on this journey - you ardent art lovers really don’t want to miss this.
About Madhubani Paintings
One of the most popular forms of folk paintings in India are the Madhubani paintings (pronounced as Ma-dhu-ba-ni) which are also referred to as Mithila Paintings. Deriving its name from the place of its origin - Madhubani, a district in the Mithila region of north Bihar, India - its speciality lies in the depiction of people, nature and deities from ancient epics. When one closely observes the painting, one can notice that less or no space is left on the canvas, and the subjects of Madhubani art have big wide eyes. What also forms the centre of attraction are the beautiful borders of the paintings which usually consist of floral or geometric designs. Originally, these paintings were made on the walls of houses by Women, but the art form has now expanded to mediums such as canvas, paper, wall paintings, cloths and more due to its growing popularity amongst people. The colours used in these paintings are made from rice paste, turmeric, cow dung and many other natural dyes and pigments, and they’re applied through the usage of not only brushes but also fingers, twigs and matchsticks.
Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Madhubani art (2019) by Satya Narayan Lal Karn
This Madhubani painting is a depiction of a forest scene. This painting portrays the 4th Millennium Development Goal, which deals with reducing child immortality. The painting consists of four elephants- one mother and three baby elephants. Here, it is shown that animals have the natural instinct of protecting their younger ones. The elephants portrayed in this painting have big eyes, which is a key feature of Madhubani Paintings. Since the painting is a depiction of a forest scene, one can easily spot snakes coiled up around the branches and barks of the tree. Birds and an owl (top left) can also be seen on the branches, with nestlings perching within the hollow bark of the tree. Honey bees and honey comb can also be spotted towards the right hand side of the canvas. The bottom of the painting shows a river/sea, which is filled with fishes and crabs. At the top of the painting towards the left-centre a circular figure can be seen which depicts the Sun - symbolic for long life. Overall, the groups of animals within this painting represent care and protection that should be given to young ones amongst nature.
Subjects/themes of Madhubani Paintings
Madhubani Paintings deal mostly in the depiction of nature, deities from Hindu Mythology, and important ceremonies in Hindu religion e.g. marriage. When we closely analyse nature as the primary theme through Madhubani paintings, we can conclude that each subject or symbol in the work has a special meaning which correlates with Hindu religion. To begin with - in Hindu religion, apart from the deities, nature is also worshiped: A Lotus is a symbol of good luck, whilst turtles signify firmness and union of lovers, and fish express fertility. Because of this deep significance, all of these form one of the many subjects of Madhubani art. Other subjects, like the stories of the two great Indian epics - The Ramanya and the Mahabharta - are also often depicted through these paintings, in addition to the frequent reoccurrence of the lives of Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva.
Madhubani Mahavidyas (undated)
The above painting is of Mahavidyas which refers to a group of ten aspects of Adi parashakti - which are ten forms of Goddess Parvati. In this painting, Lord Shiva and Goddess Sati are depicted in the far left and right respectively, whilst the top and bottom row consist of Sati’s ten forms. The circle between Lord Shiva and Sati represents a snake called Sri Yantri, which is a scared geometrical form. There are a number of stories behind Mahavidyas. According to one of the legends, Lord Shiva and Sati were not invited to attend Prajapati Daksha’s (Sati’s father) Yagna (a ritual where Hindu God of Fire, Agni Dev, is worshipped). Sati, who was eager to attend the ritual, was forbidden by Lord Shiva because he understood that it was a tactical move of Daksha to insult him. A furious Sati then transformed into ten forms known as the Mahavidyas to showcase her anger.
The top row depicts Goddess Kali, Tara, Bhauvnaeshwari, Tripura Sundari, and Bhairavi. The bottom row depicts Goddess Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala.
Forms/types of Madhubani Paintings
Madhubani art can be further divided into five styles namely:
1. Bharni
The word “Bharni” in Hindi language means “to fill” or simply “filling”. The Bharni style of Madhubani painting is characterised for its portrayal of Hindu deities from the Hindu Mythology in a very colourful form.
A Bharni style Madhubani Painting (undated) by Vandana Karna
The canvas of this painting is filled with art from all corners, hence the name “Bharni” is given to this painting. This painting portrays a rural woman who is dressed up traditionally with a fish on her head. Rural women are often portrayed in Madhubani pictures because originally, Madhubani Paintings were a part of rural art forms. Hence, the women who drew them generally took inspiration from each other through their daily lives, households and dress sense. As a result, most women depicted in the paintings, like the one in this painting, is shown in a traditional getup with bangles in both hands, earrings and a neckpiece.
Fish hold very deep meaning not only in Madhubani Painting, but as a whole in Hindu Mythology. Taken as a symbol of fertility, prosperity, wealth and abundance, they also represent nature. While no description of the painting is given by the artist, we can assume that this woman is being portrayed as a fish seller who has caught a big, healthy fish and is now proceeding to sell it. Therefore the money she earns through the sale of the fish will be added to her wealth and prosperity in life. In Hindu religion, the colour yellow is deemed to be a very auspicious colour: It represents sunshine, joy, purity and optimism towards life. One can also assume the colour yellow in the background of this painting portrays a bright sunny day. The branches shown in the painting can depict a forest through which this Woman is navigating through in order to reach her destination.
2. Kachni
This style belongs to the Kayastha community of India. The Kachni style can be distinguished from other styles by way of the usage of monochrome, two tone colours in the depiction of nature, and line work.
A part of Kachni style Madhubani Painting (undated) by Mahalaxmi
In this monochrome painting, a Woman who’s wearing ornaments such as earrings and bangles is shown with a pot above her head. It’s assumed this pot is filled with water, amidst nature draped and hanging in the form of branches around her. There are no solid colours - only detailed line work to create patterns within the subject’s clothing, leaves and background elements. We can also spot a little bird right above her forehead flying into the top right corner of the canvas.
3. Tantrik
The Tantrik style is derived from Tantra - an ancient text which delineate the Hindu religion. This form of Madhubani painting depicts traditional and religious texts along with deities.
Tantrik style Madhubani Painting (undated)
The given painting is the depiction of Goddess Kali with four hands to the right hand side of the canvas, with sacred geometries of Mandalas and Yantras filling over half of the canvas. Mandala and Yantra represent both the Universe and human beings in Hindu religion. Goddess Kali is considered as an incarnation of Goddess Parvati - she is seen as the divine protector. Referring directly to Hinduism, she is seen as the one who brings the ultimate end of asuras (demons).
4. Godhna
This form of painting emerged from gypsy women who tattooed their body parts since they could not afford jewellery. Godna can be differentiated from other forms of Madhubani Painting through the usage of cow dung and black ink in its creation. People also use this style in the form of tattoos.
Madhubani Painting of Bihar: Half of Godna Painting (2019) by Ranjit Paswan
The given Godna style Madhubani Painting depicts Lord Krishna, with a flute in his left hand standing with his chief consort Radha. The speciality of this painting lies on the medium on which it is made. This painting is made by applying a cow dung wash onto paper in order to give it old brownish stained texture. Along with this, black ink is also used to illustrate the scene. One can also notice the creation of finely detailed textures created in and around Lord Krishna and Radha, which form the entire background of the painting. This finely detailed background is a key feature of Godna Style Madhubani Painting.
5. Kohbar
Kohbar is characterised through the depiction of wedding ceremonies followed in the Hindu religion, and is one of the most popular forms of Madhubani art. Kohbar paintings derive their name from the paintings created in the “kohbar ghar” - meaning nuptial chamber.
Kohbar of Mithila (undated) by Sita Devi
This particular painting depicts the faces of women inside several circles - its constructed pattern forming the rings of a lotus petal, symbolic of fertility. We can also see a long vertical object passing through the central ring with a larger circular face. This long vertical object is symbolic of a plant stem - the connection between the lotus and the pond. One can also say this whole painting is a depiction of a pond - since you can spot turtles and fish swimming across the canvas. Turtles have varied meaning in Hinduism. For example, they’re depicted to be carrying the entire world on their hard shell back. They also indicate steadiness, firmness and union of lovers, whilst fish represent fertility and good luck. The bottom left of the canvas shows the wedding of Lord Shiva (depicted in the colour black) and Goddess Parvati. Between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the exchange of garland ceremony (called as Var Maya) is taking place. The bottom right portrays a married couple as witnesses.
Conclusion
One can learn a lot about culture through folk art, and the Madhubani paintings are the perfect example of this. In fact, the entire religion of Mithila can also be studied through this art form. The bright colours of the vivacious Madhubani Paintings completely light up our mood. Madhubani Paintings are a true depiction of one of India’s many ancient cultures passed down through generations, never lost in the sands of time.
Bibliography
Authindia (2021) Type of Madhubani Paintings. Available at: https://authindia.com/types-of-madhubani-painting
Gosh, S (2020) Madhubani paintings vibrant folk art of Mithila. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340689226_Madhubani_Painting-Vibrant_Folk_Art_of_Mithila
India.gov.in. ‘Know India: Madhubani Painting’. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011.
Sarmaya Trust (2022) Khobar. Available at: .https://sarmaya.in/objects/indigenous-tribal-art/khobar/
Illustrations
Devi, S. (undated) Kohbar of Mithila. Available online at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kohbar_of_Mithila.png
Karna, V. Bharni Style Madhubani Painting (undated). Available online at https://www.dsource.in/gallery/madhubani-paintings-bihar
Madhubani Mahavidyas (undated). Available online at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madhubani_Mahavidyas.jpg
Mahalaksmi. Kachni style Madhubani Painting (undated). Available online at https://www.dsource.in/gallery/madhubani-paintings-bihar
Paswan, R (2019) Madhubani Painting of Bihar- Godna Paiting. Available online at https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/madhubani-painting-of-bihar-half-of-godna-painting-ranjit-paswan/WAH_46UqJt9ntg?hl=en
Satya Narain Lal Karn. (2019) Painting of Bihar: Madhubani art. Available online at https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/_/VAH03hHLWiFiOQ
Tantrik style Madhubani Painting (undated). Available online at https://www.paintandpainting.com/madhubani-painting/
Few images are available via license : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
