Folk Arts of India, Madhubani Paintings

Seven years back I visited Madhubani in Bihar, a state in eastern part of India. Madhubani had already built a name for itself as a major centre for folk arts of India. I met about ten artists there, mostly women. I was amazed by the quality of their workmanship. Some of these artists had already made their name, winning coveted national awards. Some had even visited US, Europe and Japan to showcase their skills.

I learnt that this form of Folk Art started by decorating earthen walls in homes. Women would express their social and cultural life in their paintings on the walls.

Gradually, they began to practise this art form on handmade paper. In order to provide strength to paper, the artists would first treat the paper with cowdung. After that they would draw imageries in pencil drawings. Finally they would fill in color that were actually extracts of locally grown vegetables and flowers.

Themes used in Madhubani paintings are real life situations, ranging from birth, growing up, marriage, child's birth, to eventual death. Some of the paintings are quite poignant.

I was however disturbed by one aspect. Creating folk art was the only means of livelihood for several families here. In India, there are not enough buyers of folk art, even though many rich people spend fortune on some shoddy works of modern art. Consequently most families in Madhubani remain quite poor, despite their high skill level in art and painting.

Shalini Verma, a woman entrepreneur and a native of Bihar, sells Madhubani Painting online though amazon.com. Browse through Madhubani paintings at amazon. You might just fall in love with folk arts of India.