Mithila Painting
Bihar
Mithila is also called Madhubani Painting, practiced in the Mithila region
of Bihar and in the towns of Madhubani and Darbanga.
The painting was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud walls and
the floors of huts. It is done with a broomstick and colours extracted
from leaves and flowers.
The main themes are religious (Gods and Goddesses), nature (birds,
animals, forest) and social (day-to-day life).
During festivals and celebrations, women decorate their homes by
drawing distinct patterns on the walls, ceilings and floors. This region
has been exposed to many religious influences, thus buddhist and
tantric imprints on local motifs are visible. It was in the sixties, due to
natural calamities, that the idea occurred to transpose the art onto
paper so that the paintings could be taken to other states and sold to
collect Relief funds.
The beauty of Mithila Art lies in its painstaking detail and includes
different designs for various occasions and festivals, e.g. birth,
marriage, holi, suryashashti, kali puja and durga puja. Apart from their
decorative purpose, they also constitute a form of visual education
from which we learn of our heritage.
Satyanarayan Lal Karn is considered one of the finest Mithila artists of India. He learnt this art from
his mother and renowned artist Jagadamba Devi. He was head of the creative art department
and the teacher’s training programme at the National Bal Bhavan, New Delhi, until 2012. He
received the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Memorial Award in 2000 and the National Award in 2001,
jointly with his wife Moti Karn. He is one of the founding members of Paramparik Karigar and has
participated in exhibitions in India, U.S.A., Bulgaria, France and Australia.
Moti Karn received the National Merit Certificate in 1999 and the Vijaya Deshmukh Award by
Paramparik Karigar for ‘The Best Woman Karigar’ in 2005. Satyanarayan and Moti Karn work
together on all their paintings in complete harmony.
