JOIN USCelebration of intricacy
A rough-hewn toothpick, tip placed against the thin paper, slowly etches the beak of a peacock in rich black kohl. A lamp flickers in the corner of the room. When the kohl weakens, the painter will hold a steel bowl over the lamp and wait patiently for more to collect. Around him, wooden bowls with various dyes and shades of blue, reddish-brown, and vivid parrot green lie in various stages of use. The greens and blues will be used up long before this painting is completed; the artist is capturing the grace and beauty of a peacock this evening.
Mithila Lok Chitra is a traditional Indian folk art practised in the Madhubani district of Bihar, India. Commonly known as Madhubani Painting, the art form is characterised by intricate patterns, themes of nature and mythology, and a filled canvas. Typically, every square centimetre of space is utilised, making this one of the most painstaking and difficult art forms in India.
I met Ashok Kumar Das at the February 2022 exhibition of arts and crafts at Chitrakala Parishath in Bengaluru, and his dedication to his art form was immediately evident. The grandson of the Late Jagadamba Devi, the first Madhubani artist to be conferred a national award in 1970 and a Padma Shri in 1975, Ashok Kumar Das spends his days practising and teaching his art to countless youth in Jitwarpur village in Madhubani district, Bihar.
As we chat casually about the intricacies of the Mithila paintings in his stall, he tells me about the many award-winning artists in his family. Madhubani district is home to multiple national award-winning painters and exponents of Mithila Lok Chitra. The art form received official recognition and support from the Government of India in 1969, when Sita Devi received the State Award from the Government of Bihar. Many painters from the district contributed to beautifying the Madhubani Junction Railway Station with panels of Mithila Lok Chitra on the walls lining the platforms. It is one of the most beautiful stations in India today!
Like most art forms in India, Mithila paintings also attribute meanings to different symbols and characters. “Elephants will bring you good health, birds will bring you happiness, and fish symbolise good luck and fertility,” Mr Das says, even as I pick up a colourful portrait of a peacock in a tree. He also points out how no two paintings are the same when I ask him for a smaller version of one of the large masterpieces hanging on the wall of the stall. “Every single piece of art here is unique. You cannot find two similar pieces of Madhubani art. It is a very individual form of art.”
There are five distinct styles of Mithila painting; their differences stemmed from the caste that typically created them. Nowadays, caste is no barrier to the style of painting that artists practice.
Colours from nature
“Traditionally, these paintings were done on mud walls with cow dung spread over them,” Mr Das says, smoothening out a rolled painting that refuses to lay flat. “Nowadays, we make our own paper or use cloth.” The colours are also derived from nature — bel and Mehendi leaves are used to make green, rose for red, harsingar flowers for pink, turmeric for yellow, and neelkanth flower for blue, among others. The dyes are mixed with gum water so that they bind to the paper. The artist shows us his nib (a special artist tool) that he uses for detailing.
As an ecologist, I am particularly drawn to the paintings of nature. Ashok Kumar Das asks me what I study, and then shows me a painting of a chubby elephant. “You will find our style of drawing animals funny,” he says with a hearty guffaw. “We believe a fat elephant brings better health than a thin one!”