Mithila
Arts in Nepal
( Janakpur)
Bihar boasts of an enviable wealth
of rural handicrafts comprising of hand - painted
wall hangings, wooden stools, miniatures in paper
and leaves, stone pottery, bamboo and leather
goods, and applique work. But Bihar's most famous
and fascinating indigenous art forms, by far,
are its Madhubani Paintings. This art is a strict
monopoly of the women of Mithila. Done in primary
colours of natural origin on paper and cloth,
they narrate mythological and religious events.
North of the river Ganges, in
the state of Bihar lies a land called Mithila,
shaded by old mango groves and watered by melt
water rivers of Nepal and the Himalayas. The
men of the community have been famous as priests
and scholars. The women largely illiterate,
find cultural expression through exquisite paintings
created for ritual occasions. They cover their
courtyard walls in abstract images in brilliant
colour, res
embling
in form and function the sand paintings of the
Navahos. In the 1960s some local officials realised
that if the women would only put some of their
paintings on paper there might be a worldwide
market for their creations. They proved to be
correct and it is a mild irony in Mithila that
the fame of the women has surpassed that of
the men, because Mithila Art, otherwise known
as Madhubani Paintings also, is now recognised
throughout the world.
The art of Mithila is linked
to religious ceremonies,particularly marriage
and its consequence, procreation. Interspersed
with the Vedic marital rites, with the Sanskrit
chanting by the Brahmins, is a tradition controlled
by the women and devoted to female deities Durga,
Kali and Gauri. The bride and groom are pulled
away by the women for their own ceremonies devoted
to Gauri in which men other than the groom are
forbidden. Gauri is the goddess to whom the
bride has prayed since childhood to bring her
a good husband. These ceremonies are performed
in courtyards before painted images of the goddesses.
The function of the paintings being ritualistic
the art is very symbolic.
The primordial energy of the universe
is embodied in 
various
female forms, both living women and Goddesses.
Some common themes include one of the Snake
goddess, a form in which snakes are worshipped
at Nag Panchmi during the monsoons, a time when
snakes abound. Durga astride her tiger is another
common representation. Probably the most powerful
symbolism is the one associated with Duragoman
Puren. A single seed that is dropped in the
pond produces many lotus flowers, an appropriate
thought for the bride and the groom at the time
of their wedding. Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess
of wealth, is a newer and common addition to
the repertoire of Mithila symbolism. Among the
male deities Ganesha, Krishna and Shiva are
more commonly depicted. Trees, birds and animals
are extensively used in combination with other
ritual and religious paintings. Sometimes, rarely,
one will see these alone without religious implication.
Wall Paintings
in Nepal
The paintings on
wall have deeper themes, also narratives, for
they are the stories being told sometimes in
a series of panels. Apart from their decorative
purpose, they also constitute a form of visual
education like picture books, from which ones
learns of ones heritage. Some outstanding ones
are done in the Madhubani area. They have a
naivete and simplicity which perhaps is their
attraction, that both soothes and pleases the
eyes.
The multiarmed DURGA riding the
lion flanked by serpents, with their upraised
hoods, is awesome. The subject matter varies
according to the occassion. The Gods and Goddess
are normally there to bless. Their most elaborate
picture is in the nuptial chamber the "Kohbar
Ghar" designed to bless the couple. Here
there will be divine couples like SHIV-PARVATI,
RADHA-KRISHNA, then the signs of fertility and
prosperity for good luck like elephants, fishes,
parrot, turtoil, the Sun, the Moon, bamboo,
shrubs in bloom and trees laden with giant flower.
The women with very limited resources use indigenous
colours that they can make themselves and find
bamboo sticks wrapped in cotton for painting.
Painting on the wall is communal act done by
all the women of a family or group.
