Creative Mithila - Nupur Nish*th

olk art form practiced by millions of women in the Mithila region of Bihar, India since ancient times. On the foot of Himalayas, heritage of Mithila boasts of being the land of Janak, Sita, Budh, Mahavira and strong deep rooted long lineage. Mithila art is a style of painting done by women on social and cultural occasions, and has been passed through generations from mother to daughter. Originally it was used as a tool for Learning and Education of the ladies of household when formal education was not allowed to females. Traditionally, Madhubani paintings are drawn on floors or on walls, with the help of brush or pen made of bamboo. In some of the paintings even fingers were used as a drawing instrument. With the growth of available media, even modern colouring instruments are now being used on a variety of cloths, paper and canvas. With themes ranging from nature, spirituality, social events and science, these are highly complex intricate paintings having elaborate structure involving different types of geometrical figures and curves. They also have very rich colour patterns, with traditional painting typically utilising natural colours made of plants. The paintings have to be understood in conjunction of folk stories, folk songs and other folk traditions linked to the occasion. There are paintings for each occasion in a man’s life such as birth, upnayan (sacred thread ceremony), rituals during marriage, and even Death(Aripans, the floor paintings are made in the prayer rituals after death too) and for various festivals such as Makar Sankranti, Kali Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Diwali, Bhai Dooj and others. These paintings are also Symbolic paintings, with widespread use of abstraction through symbols and patterns. Different motifs used in the paintings are quite rich in their meaning. The paintings draw inspiration from the folk stories, folk songs and other folk traditions linked to the occasion. Please like and share this page if you like the concept and work.