EP 1 Mithila Chitrakala Sansthan- Styles of Madhubani paintings, Padma Shri awardees Bihar Tourism
Namaskar friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Right now, I am in Madhubani, in Bihar. The primary objective of my visit is to learn more about the art of Madhubani paintings.
Right now, I am standing at a place called "Thana Mod." Do you see the tower on your screen? This tower is covered in Madhubani art depicting the complete Ramayan. Let us go in from here and take a look at the surroundings. In front of you is the scene depicting the 'Swayamvar' of Mata Sita. We all know that Bhagwan Ram broke a bow at this Swayamvar.
Ravan was one of the participants at the Swayamvar. This whole scene has been displayed so beautifully through Madhubani Art. And here you see the whole Durbar (royal court). I can't take you inside this room since this door is locked.
But I can pan the camera from here to show you the paintings inside. Do you see the painting in front of you? It depicts the first meeting between Bhagwan Ram and Mata Sita. Very beautiful! In the same painting, you will also notice Sita Mata's friends standing behind her. And behind Bhagwan Ram, his brother Laxman is standing. Now I am going to show you the scene depicting Raja Janak ploughing land.
You see the earthen pot in the painting? Sita Mata was found inside that pot, in the form of a baby. This is a very beautiful painting. We are also planning to visit Nepal in the future. There, we will try to show you the place where this actually happened.
This scene is when, while cleaning around the house,... ...Sita Mata picked up the bow with one hand and kept it aside. Raja Janak was amazed to see that his daughter was so strong. He thought that her life partner should also be as strong as her.
These paintings also make use of Kachni Art. This painting is made with lines drawn like this. Let me show you an example. This is a triangle drawn in just this portion.
Kachni Art is these straight lines drawn inside this triangle. Correct! The straight lines are Kachni Art while the paintings where colours are filled is 'Bharni.' For example, the faces have colours filled in them. This is Bharni Art. You can take this as an example. This beard is made using Bharni Art. All these paintings that you see here are made by Padma Shri Dulari Devi Ji.
Yesterday, I visited her at her home. Through the medium of Madhubani painting... ...this whole scene has been beautifully depicted. There is no scope for an error in work like this. If you commit a mistake anywhere while drawing such a painting... ...it could rob your painting of its whole expression. As I look at these paintings, they seem highly accurate to me.
There is no one here who is explaining these paintings to me. This scene in this painting is self-explanatory. This painting is self-explanatory when it comes to its content. Do you see these dots that are made in between? I don't know how they have made these dots but... ...the smaller dots are made with a matchstick head wrapped in cotton. Maybe that is how it is done here as well! How wonderful! All these paintings were made by Dulari Devi ji.
I already told you. The paintings on the first floor are visible from outside. Since Dulari Devi couldn't climb the first floor, some other artist has made those paintings. From where I am standing, I can see the paintings in the middle. There are a lot of paintings on the walls too. You can see all these paintings here.
To sum up... ...we've had a good start to watching paintings in Madhubani I want to visit a school that is 10 KM from here. There, kids are taught how to paint. So far, the only information I have is that the school closes at 5 PM. And the kids leave before that, by 4 or 4.30 PM. So we can't take any chance as it is already 3.45 PM.
So, we'll go and see if the school is open and if it is not then... ...we will plan for another visit tomorrow. Let's go now. I have reached Mithila Chitrakala Sansthan! This is where the children learn Mithila Art. Let us go inside. I had a meeting with Smt. Dulari Devi Ji last evening.
She told me to be here before 4 PM today so that she could show me how... ...students learn painting here as she is one of the teachers here. See this beautiful Mithila wall painting visible right after the entrance. I had introduced Parikshan ji in the BTS episode as well. He is Dulari Devi Ji's brother.
We are taking his help on this tour. Where are we going? Upstairs! Upstairs? We saw this painting today? It depicts one of the ceremonies during the wedding of Bhagwan Ram & Sita Mata. Hello, How are you? Namaste, namaste! Namaste! Oh! Please, all of you take your seats! Yes! I am introducing Dulari Devi ji to you! You were awarded Padma Shri in 2021, right? Padma Shri award is a huge recognition in itself! What I want to know from you is that... ...when was the first time you started working in Madhubani Art? How old were you then? I got married at the age of 12. Obviously, I was quite young at that time.
So, I wasn't really aware of my surroundings. I wasn't even able to understand that I was married. I got married at a young age. I lived at my in-laws' place for some time. And then returned to my parents' home.
So, I continued staying at my Mayaka (parents' home). It means you started painting when you were almost 13-14 years old? No, first I used to work as a maid in several households. I used to observe artists working on Madhubani paintings.
Especially the works of Padma Shri Mahasundari Devi & Karpoori Devi. They are my Gurus (teachers). I used to work at the home of Mahasundari Devi at a monthly salary of Rs 6.
Karpoori Devi is the younger sister-in-law of Mahasundari Devi. So, I also stayed with Karpoori Devi. I stayed with her for 25 years. And you learned this art from her? Yes! I learned it there. Very nice! Let us see what the students are doing. Last evening, you told me the college has 3 yr degree course & 6 month certificate course.
So, all of you, are you doing a certificate course or degree course? Sir, certificate course! Okay, this is a batch of certificate course. How many such batches are you running? Like this Certificate Batch! There are two Certificate course batches. Degree courses are separate? Got it! So, there are a total of 5 batches.
You said this is Kachni Art? Yes, Kachni and Bharni! Alright! And they are working on cotton fabric? It is cotton! How much time would it take approximately to finish this dupatta? At least one week. One week! If I do it fast enough, otherwise, it could also take up to 15 days. How much time do you spend on it and how much practice would it require? That depends from person to person.
I noticed one more thing here. When you pick up a fabric, do you first draw with a pencil or start with colours right away? We start directly with brush and colours but if the design is intricate, we do use pencil too. This is Kachni Art.
And this will be done using Bharni Art. The fish will be completed using both Kachni and Bharni. By Bharni, I understand that whatever is the colour of this fish... ...will be filled according to Bharni Art. Yes! Lovely! Very nice! You've started the border in red colour? Yes! Yes, I have started with red colour on the outside. Is it possible to go for a degree course once a student completes a Certificate course? Yes, they can. A lot of students must opt for that? Yes, they do.
Having a degree in hand means you are a master in the subject! Very, very nice! Is this painting complete or not? No, it is incomplete. Is it incomplete? Yes! Incomplete! I mean it doesn't look incomplete. But it is. Is this made by you as well? I still need to add more colour to it. You are still learning under the Certificate course but this painting is impeccable! How much time did you take to make this painting? It took me two weeks! It took two weeks. It is very minute work.
We seek guidance from Madam while making such a work of art. Because we are still afraid of committing mistakes. Yeah, that is true! I have noticed that if a mistake happens while working on this painting... ...it is very difficult to rectify it. Yes, that's true! And if you can't rectify a mistake, you'll have to start anew.
Yes, that is why, we need to constantly seek guidance from our teacher. What is this? This is also a pea-hen feeding her child. Yes, see... Small children! One must appreciate the minute details of this painting.
The pea-hen is feeding her children while the sun looks on. Yes, the sun! Very nice! I am an outsider and, therefore, not having enough experience. But even I can say that you will find fish almost everywhere in these paintings. It is a famous motif of these paintings. Isn't it so, I mean! Sir, Maachh (fish), Paan, Makhana (Fox nuts) are three main eatable items in Mithilanchal. Maachh! Paan, the one we eat as freshener! Yes! It is only now that I came to know that Madhubani is also famous for Makhana.
I had another notion about Makhana earlier. No Sir! The Pagdi (turban) is also a famous aspect of Mithilanchal, right? Yes, the Pagdi is called 'Paag' and this 'Dopta' that is being prepared. Dupatta! Yes, these two are significant in Mithilanchal.
What is this? These are paintings. Okay, there are more paintings! These are complete paintings! Will one of you tell me more about it? This painting depicts the birth of Mata Janaki (Mata Sita). That was a time of famine in Mithila. The Mithila King Janak was advised by his family priest to plough land himself.
When King Janak was ploughing a field... ...he found a pot with an alive baby Sita buried in a field. How much time did you take to make this painting? About 3-4 days. You must've had a lot of practice since you are doing a Degree course. Well, he says he took four days to make this painting.
But that is not a mean feat! Exemplary! This is yet another traditional form of Mithila painting. In old times, brides travelled from their parents' home in a 'Doli' (palanquin). In what you say? In Doli, which was carried by "Kahaars" (bearers). I must say, all the paintings that you've made are beautiful! I am particularly impressed with this painting. In this painting, Shri Ganesh is seen playing a drum and dancing with dandiya sticks.
So beautiful! It is a matter of creativity! How you imagined it! What is this paper used for this painting? It is handmade paper. Handmade paper! Yes! When the Swayamwavr took place for Mata Sita... ...this painting depicts that scene. This is Radha-Krishna ji. This painting depicts Radha ji going to the Yamuna River to fill water in a pot.
The painting shows her on way to the river but turning back when she hears a flute! So beautiful! I see the students doing Degree course here can draw such paintings. These paintings, do these belong to the Institute or students? No, this is my own! It is a personal task that you did at home. I really feel that I should put up all these paintings in my home too! Amazing work done here! So, these are complete....oh! there is a larger canvas too?
We were looking for it and found it now. Oh, you found what you were looking for. Ohoo! This is what I was looking for as well. I had a scene in my mind since morning. It is called Mithila's 'Kohbar', right? Kohbar! Kohbar! Kohbar! Yes! One aspect of this piece of art is that there are 6 smaller circles outside this one circle. Three on either side.
And it also has a bamboo tree drawn in it. Is that the bamboo tree? No, it is this smaller one, in this corner. Where is the bamboo tree? This one! This one? Then, what is this? Banana (tree)! So, every Kohbar has one banana tree and one bamboo tree? These are seven leaves. It is also known as "Puren."
Kohbar is associated with wedding rituals. Kohbar-Ghar (a nuptial room) is where the bride and groom consummate their marriage. And Kohbar is also the wedding songs sung on the occasion.
It also means songs. We sing 'Geet' (folk songs) in Maithili dialect. It has many elements like snake, tortoise, etc. Our weddings take place with all the elements of Kohbar standing witness.
The leaves of the lotus flower in this Kohbar... ...which spread out when opened... ...this flower is added because it represents female fertility and is considered auspicious. If we plant one lotus flower in a pond, it gives birth to a lot of flowers around the pond. That is why we have drawn so many leaves and branches out of each flower. So all that is represented here. This is Godna painting. It was earlier done on hands and wrists, like a tattoo.
Like people get tattoos. Yes! Now it is done on paper. You are saying that this is a Godna painting.
I am talking of myself - how do I identify that this is a Godna painting? Is it because of this element that a painting is Godna Art? Sir, first of all, Godna painting has a different design than Mithila painting. Mithila painting has a different design. How? Here, let me show you how. The facial structure is also different for Mithila and Godna paintings. In the Mithila painting, the elephant is drawn like this.
But in Godna, the elephant and circles are drawn differently. Even the birds and trees are drawn in different designs. Therefore, this painting is known as Godna. From what I've understood, earlier, people used to get tattoos on their body parts. The process of making tattoo was called "Godna", thus, the name of this Art. The same work is being done on a canvas here.
Yes, either on canvas or paper. Of all the painting styles that I have seen so far... ...each one is impressive in its own right. So, it would be difficult for me to say which one I am most impressed with. In fact, it would be difficult for anyone to choose because each style is unique. It would be good if you could also show me the Tantric style of painting. For the first time in my life...
...I am showcasing two Padma Shri awardees on this channel. I met Dulari Devi Ji last evening and now again today. I already introduced her to you. We also have with us Smt. Baua Devi Ji. At what age did you start making Mithila paintings? I have been doing this painting since I was 12 years old.
These days I am also teaching this Art to students at the Mithila Chitrakala Sansthan. I am at the post of 'Wariye Acharya.' I am an instructor here. That is what I do here.
Amazing! When you compare today's form of Mithila painting to what it was 60 years ago... ....tell us what you observe is the difference between two eras. Also tell us your view on whether more people are associated with Mithila painting... ...now or were associated earlier. There is a lot of difference between the two eras. There wasn't this amount of work done in Mithila painting earlier. Now, a lot of good work is being carried out in this style of painting.
There is more awareness regarding these styles of painting. A lot of good work is being done now. At present, this art enjoys a lot of support from government as well as public. If you look around here, you will see 4-5 classes going on at the same time. Today, there are lots of people keen to learn this art and make Mithila paintings.
Very nice! It was a pleasure meeting you both. We got to learn a lot about Mithila paintings today. Now, I am really keen to see Tantric paintings. And I want to understand how can we identify that this is Tantric painting. So, will you help us? Yes, of course! So, we will go with you to the place where the paintings are kept. And, thank you for taking out time for us.
Thank you! Sanjay Ji has a collection of Tantric paintings at home. The faculty residence is in the same premises. Where do you live? This, flat no. 3. Alright! Yes! This painting is of Ma Kali.
And it was made with a free hand. I have used both natural as well as chemical-based colours to make it. This painting has been made as per the style adopted by Baua Devi Ma'am.
In her paintings, you'll find borders like these. Since, we work together, I have tried to observe and copy her style of painting. This is a natural style of painting.
It has another special feature. If you observe our Bharni paintings... ...you will see similar multi-layered colouring. This is a specialization that can be attributed to Baua Ma'am.
This is 'Ardhanareeshwara' Ganesh! It is quite possible that you may not have seen Ganesh ji in this form. This is Bhagwan Ganesh painted as half man and half woman. Ardhanareeshwara Ganesh! Ganesh! Yes! This form of Ganesh finds its mention in Ganesh Purana.
The subjects of Tantra Paintings find their origin in the ancient scriptures. You can see references to those scriptures in these paintings. So far, I have understood that Tantra painting is not a style of painting. These paintings are based on the topic of 'Tantra.' These paintings are done in Madhubani or Mithila style keeping the topic in mind.
What would be the market price of a painting like this? The maximum price that a painting of mine in this size has fetched is Rs 1 lakh. We sell it for up to Rs 1 lakh. Its price range normally begins with Rs 30k to Rs 40k. It means the price range is between Rs 30k and Rs 1 lakh depending upon the work.
Apart from that, the price also depends upon the painter and his journey. As for me, I can make a painting based on your deity or anything associated with it. Really! Yes! It is by the grace of my Guru that no one else but I can make such paintings.
Tantra paintings are a part of a rare category of Indian paintings. In our Mithila region, there would hardly be one or two more painters of Tantra. Marvellous! You told me this is a style adopted by Baua Devi Ma'am. What is different about this style? One of her specialties is that she uses abundant colours in her paintings. In her paintings, green and pink are the dominant colours.
Generally, you won't see paintings in these colours in Mithila style. Very few people use colours like these. The reason behind that is.... ...that this colour won't come across as vibrant as this unless it is applied... ...in multiple layers. That's the reason most painters stay away from it because it is time-consuming. And this is a tree? Tree of life! Alright! Life begins in water.
We create the 'Matasya' Avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu first, which means that... ...life begins in the water. Even while inside the mother's womb, we are in a liquid. That is in which we grow first. Please give me an idea of its price. About that, you said, its price starts at Rs 30k. What about this? This would be sold at least for Rs 25k.
In the case of the price of my paintings, the size doesn't matter. Because your work is done at a minute level. That as well as the subject and time taken to complete the paintings. This is a painting of 'Mahamrityunjay.' And this is Mahamrityunjay Yantra! It is for this painting that I've received State Award for 2016-17. Wonderful! Everyone is aware of the significance of Mahamrityunjay! But is it depicted in a painting as well? Yes, it happens but rarely! This form of painting has not been depicted earlier.
This shloka (Mantra) is present in 'Sati Khand' of 'Shiv Purana'. That Shloka contains its full description. That is the basis on which I have made this painting. Wonderful! Sanjay Ji, it was a pleasure meeting you & being introduced to your fine work.
We came to meet you after gaining prior permission. If a tourist wants to visit this campus here... ...so, would that be allowed? No, normally it is not allowed. You can visit the office here. If you're granted permission, then you can visit campus. In a way, you'll have to request them and if they allow, you can visit the campus.
Yes, then you can visit here. We don't allow everyone into the campus because we have girl students here. And, of course, their work would also get disturbed. Now, I would like to take your leave. Thank you very much! Thanks to your viewers as well! Very well! On the way to our hotel, on the left hand side of the road,...
...there is a sweet shop called 'Banshi Sah and Sons.' This is a famous sweet shop locally. To give you an idea, you saw the Thana Morh this afternoon. This shop is hardly 500 meters from the roundabout while hotel is 500 meters from there.
Let us go in and have something sweet. We have with us the owner of this sweet shop. He told me that this shop has been at this place for the past 8 years. But they had an older shop earlier in Benipatti. That was opened in 1929. So, that is a very long history. Isn't it?
How far is Benipatti from here? 22 KM. I have come here to have rasgulla. They have this round rasgulla. And they also have this Gulab Jamun, prepared from 'Chhena.'
Please give me a piece of each! To eat? To eat! Here it is, a Rasgulla made with Gur (jaggery). And this is Gulab Jamun made with Chhena! You make this Rasgulla throughout the year or only during winters? Whole year! Throughout the year! This Rasgulla is delicious to taste. Hmm! This Rasgulla offers the full feeling of sponginess associated with this sweet! This is good as well. Now, I have had two sweets back-to-back.
I liked this one more among the two. Here you go! Okay Bhaiya! We've reached our hotel, Deepjyoti! I have found out what is available at their restaurant. They had options in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. I know that this region is famous for its fish dishes. So, I thought it better to order fish. I have ordered Rohu fish for myself.
This is a plate of Rohu fish curry. It has four pieces. Curry is good! It is full-on spicy! The dominating flavour in this curry is that of mustard oil. Fish has a delicious taste! Overall good! Now let us finish this episode here. As for our tomorrow's programme... We will visit Ranti village.
Then we will go to Rajnagar. That way, we will reach Janakpur by tomorrow evening. I mean, we will return to Madhubani and then leave for Janakpur. Now, we will meet you tomorrow. Obviously, you will see our tomorrow's journey in the next episode.
Let me say bye to you for now. Thanks for your time!
2024-04-09 05:12
