Indian Art: Madhubani Paintings

Madhubani painting or Mithila painting is a style of Indian painting, usually practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar, India and the adjoining parts of Terai in Nepal. Madhubani painting or Mithila painting has been done traditionally by the women of villages around the present town of Madhubani and Darbhanga, Bihar.

Madhubani painting has remained confined to a compact geographical area. The content and the style have largely remained the same. This has resulted in Madhubani painting being accorded the GI status (Geographical Indication).

The Paintings are done with fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens and matchsticks, using natural dyes and pigments.

The paintings are characterized by eye-catching geometrical patterns. The scenes mostly depict man his association with nature and deity from the ancient epics. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and religious plants like Tulsi are widely painted along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings. Generally no space is left empty and the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and geometric designs.

Some of the prominent names in Madhubani art are Smt Bharti Dayal, Mahasundari Devi ,Sita Devi, Godavari Dutt and Bua Devi.