Straight from the art

A teacher's wife gave Madhubani paintings new dimension

Madhubani paintings by Mahasundari Devi  earned her global accolades .

More than four decades ago, or to be precise in 1966, a prolonged drought struck North Bihar. The affected districts were mostly in Mithila region which comprised Madhu­bani, Muzaffarpur, Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Saharsa, Darbhanga, Munger, Purnia and Bhagalpur.

To overcome the severe economic crises and to keep people away from the pangs of hunger, a new source of non-agricultural income was found. The All India Handicrafts Board encouraged women artists to create their paintings on handmade paper for commercial purposes. Local women were asked to transform their art on to paper and sell it.

Since then, painting has become a primary source of income for scores of families in Mithila. Madhu­bani literally means forest of honey. Madhubani painting, also called Mithila painting, has been done traditionally by the women of villages in and around Madhubani and other areas of Mithila. It is a tribute to the resourcefulness of women of Mithila who have successfully transferred their techniques of wall-painting to the medium of paper.
But it all started way back in 1939, when an

18-year-old dusky woman Mahasundari Devi came to Ranti in Madhubani after getting married to a school teacher Krishna Kumar Das on February 17 that year. Mahasundari had studied till Class VII. But she was a born artist. She used to draw designs like Kohbar or Baans, Sita Swayamvar or Radha Krishna on the mud walls of her house (at her in-laws’ place) on ceremonial occasions. This drew the attention of a renowned art collector Bhaskar Kulkarni, who motivated her to create these designs on pieces of handmade paper to be exhibited in galleries across the country and abroad.

Since then, Mahasundari Devi, who was born in a Karn Kayastha family at Chatra village of Benipatti, never looked back. Giving Madhubani painting a new dimension, she went on to receive awards from three Presidents – Dr Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma and Pratibha Patil--for her great art work.

“Her work were displayed at exhibitions world over and earned her accolades, but I couldn’t forget the joy and excitement on her face when she got Padmashree in 2011,” said her son Bipin Das.

Apart from Padma award, she was bestowed with Tulsi award (1997), the highest award instituted for folk art by the Madhya Pradesh Government, the national award and the Shilp Guru award in 2007.

Her karma bhoomi remained Madhubani, the Bihar district which shares border with Nepal. Peop­le of Mithila have their own language and a sense of regional identity that goes back to more than 2,500 years.

Among the most celebrated figures believed to have been born in the region are Lord Mahavira, Lord Buddha and Sita (the legendary wife of Rama).

The people of this region believe that the land of Mithila is holier compared to other parts of Bihar. This kind of impression gained ground precisely because of the historic fact that Mithila was the first region which was brought under the influence of Aryan culture. And the Maithils take a lot of pride in their culture, language and customs.

It was against this backdrop that Mahasundari imparted the basic skills of Madhubani painting to all three of her daughters-in-law – Vibha Das, Abha Das and Runa Das. Vibha is a recipient of national award for her exemplary art work.

The origins of Madhubani painting or Mithila Painting had been found in Tulsidas’ account of Rama­yana. The legend has it that this style of painting originated when King Janak sought artists to do paintings at the time of wedding of his daughter Sita to Lord Ram.

Traditionally, painting was one of the skills that was passed down from generation to generation in the families of the Mithila region, mainly by women. The painting was usually done on walls during festivals, religious events, and other milestones of the life-cycle such as birth, Upanayanam (Sacred thread ceremony), and marriage. The painting was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud wall of huts, but now it is also done on cloth, hand-made paper and canvas.

As Madhubani painting has remained confined to a compact geographical area of Mithila and the skills have been passed on through centuries, the content and the style have largely remained the same.

In 1988, an earthquake in the region devastated parts of Darbhanga and Madhubani. The palace complex of Darbhanga Maharaj, replete with paintings done two centuries ago, as per the Mithila traditions, was also damaged.

But in the next three decades, Mahasundari Devi not only popularised this art form in the country but also in the western world. Nitish Kumar and Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia have been great admirers of her art work.

When the Bihar Chief Minister last met her, she had requested him to create budgetary allocation for artists to make paintings and allow an annual purchase of their paintings by the Government. She also wanted an art museum and institute for development of regional arts.

But her wish died along with her when she passed away on July 4 due to severe breathing problem at the age of 92.