Madhubani Painting: The Marker of Indian Civilization

2015

The making of Sanjhi is closely linked with cow-dung. In fact in Indian folk-art tradition, a separate category of art form can be delineated, where the main material used for drawing is cow-dung and clay. The present study was carried out on sixty respondents making Sanjhi at Nathdawara and Devghard of Mewar region. To achieve the objective of the study sixty respondents were selected thirty from each region. Structured interview schedule was used for data collection. It was observed from the present investigation that the tradition of Sanjhi making is prevalent in Brahmins families of the region. Adolescent girls and young women in the age group of 15-30 years were found to be widely involved in this art. Regarding family structure and education, most of the respondents were graduate and lived in joint families. Majority of the respondents were found to be associated with this craft from more than 10 years. All the respondents reported that Sanjhi making is their family tradition....

Native Art of India Ed. by Sathyapal published by Lalit Kala Akademi, 2011

The essay explains the urgency of the need to reconsider cognitive categories in the definition, classification and hierarchisation of arts; to rebuild the crumbling bridges between life and arts, culture and development; and, to read the beginnings of human response to nature forwards into a sustainable relationship between culture and nature.

2021

Folk art is a form of art which represents the cultural identity of a society, and is made by individuals without any formal training in art. In the Mithila region of Bihar, Madhubani painting is a folk art depicting Hindu style of painting that has now attained worldwide recognition. In its original form, it was used by women to decorate the walls and floors of their houses during the time of festivals, and to this date, it is mainly women from the Brahmin, Kayastha, and Dalit communities who practice this type of painting. Thus, there is a distinct social as well as gender stratification involved in Madhubani painting, and the present study tries to explore these issues and their social, economic, and cultural impacts on the society in general, and women in particular. The study would use both primary as well as secondary sources. Data related to different forms of folk art and their micro regional variations, socioeconomic attributes etc. has been collected through primary survey that will include face to face interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth observation. Based on these data, the study will try to assess the symbolic values of Madhubani painting as well as the role of sociocultural fabric of the geographic space within which it is located in the evolution and development of different styles of Madhubani painting in the region.

2013

I express my sincere gratitude to those without whose support I would never have undertaken such a project. Mentioning everyone who helped me directly and indirectly to bring this work to fruition will be a lengthy affair. Nevertheless, I acknowledge the support received from various museums and libraries to authenticate the data I have collected during my field research.

The Itihasology Journal, 2023

The term, ‘Oral traditions', applies to both the process of its transmission and its outcome, derived from the oral messages being passed down to the generations (Vansina, 1985). The practice of narrating epics and stories, therefore, is an example of oral traditions. One such epic is that of Pabuji, which is painted on a scroll called 'Phad’ and is transmitted through folk art and orality in the regions of Bhilwara and Shahpura in Rajasthan. Oral traditions were probably incorporated into folk art and performances to overcome language barriers and ease the process of transmission (Mode & Chandra,1985). Therefore, studying the relationship between oral traditions and folk art seems to be of value. Keeping this in mind, the paper will attempt to introduce the epic of Pabuji and the process of its transmission.

2024

Folk art and craft comprises art created by indigenous cultures, peasants, and other common individuals. It is frequently learned through rigorous apprenticeships or passed down from generation to generation within families. The patterns, themes, techniques, and materials of folk art and craft must have specific importance and convey a great deal about the culture or civilization to which they belong. In Assamese culture, brass metal articles, silk and bamboo articles are used for various purposes daily household activities, religious ceremonies, marriage gift items, musical instruments, etc. As an anthropological researcher when viewing folk art articles a careless inquiry occasionally pops into the researcher's mind out of curiosity. The question might be, How did this item come into existence? who are the people who make these craft items, how are they skilled and who trains them? It often focuses on the many concerns surrounding traditions influencing and enhancing their learning process. Using an ethnographic methodology and narrative analysis, it is believed that all of these and many other questions will receive proper answers. Many Assamese tribal and folk cultures' traditional arts and crafts are currently in danger of being extinct. This article is an effort to describe and exhibit the rich artistic and craft traditions of the Barpeta district, Assam, which are currently in danger of extinction. In particular, it focuses on the collection of dying arts and crafts made by the metal craft communities of Assam. This research focuses on brass metal craft groups in the Sarukhteri region of Assam through mapping the structure of craft communities and external bodies between which knowledge exchange occurs. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how knowledge has been transferred in Assam's craft communities and to subsequently identify and comprehend some underlying problem areas.

International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 2019

This paper aims to present folk art as one of the genuine art forms and also to give depth to the beliefs of the primitive traditions. The native Indian art has maintained its continuity till the present day. Folk art plays an important role in the society. The domestic art works like Rangoli, Mandana, the pictorial scroll paintings, the paintings of Hindu deities at Puri, the Pattchitra etc. are the traditional arts of India. These are quiet ancient arts which are done on festivals and celebrations especially marriages. The art produced by the folk artist or tribal people have been very largely short lived, but it still has authentic historical background as found in the archaeological searches of Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan culture. The absorption of tradition and the historical past is helpful for the present and it brings with it the experience to shape up the future. Indian art has been a priceless witness to artistic talents going through the phases of cultural devel...

International Journal of Culture and History (EJournal)

The Indian subcontinent has seen the emergence and extinction of multiple populaces, but the remnants of their existence have been reflected in the creations that they left behind, a form of which is visual-art. In its embryonic stages, visual-art was not individualistic, but rather an echo of the society put into one work of art, a portrayal of native lands and cultures. Madhubani painting, holding similar characteristics, was born in Mithila, home to four of the six Schools of Philosophy of ancient India. Mithila's rich classical culture intermingling with the vivid folk traditions, led to the creation of multiple cultural rituals, out of which Madhubani painting is one. Madhubani painting started as a form of visual-art on an earthen surface, often coated with cow-dung called aripan, developing into a mural style of painting and was eventually commercialized, when paper and fabric was introduced to make the art portable and sellable. This form of art is a highly gendered space, mostly involving women, charged with ritualistic motifs used in the celebration of events, such as wedding rituals, harvests, chaurchan, kojagara and full moons, among others. From the 1970s, the artform has become more commercialized and individualistic rather than community based. The medium of the painting has transgressed from using dyes procured from natural resources such as soot, harshringar flower, bamboo reeds, etc. to the usage of fine-liner pens and other modern stationary items. The contemporary artists are compelled to conform to the ever-changing eagerness for novelty by the market, changing the intrinsic nature of this artistic space. Through our paper, we aim to adopt an anthropological approach to analyze the transition of Madhubani painting to a commercialized artform, encapsulating the features of avant-gardism from the highly ritualistic, gendered and most importantly, a vernacular artform of the people of Mithila.

A survey of visual forms in Pakistan which are based on intuition and cultural conditioning. The paper puts forward the possibility of forging an identity through these forms and identifies the educational curricula in Pakistan as an essential proponent of identity creation.