Magical Madhubani

Reader Indu Kapila had wowed us with her Tanjore creations earlier. This time she sends pictures of Madhubani work done by her on fabric. Read on…

The art of Madhubani

Madhubani painting or Mithila painting takes its name after a village. It’s a style of art that originated in Mithila, Bihar. This style of painting got official recognition in 1970, after Jagdamba Devi of Village Jitbarpur near Madhubani received an award for the art from the President of India. Madhubani paintings are traditionally done by the women in villages around the present town of Madhubani and other areas of Mithila. Traditionally, the painting was done on freshly plastered mud walls to celebrate important occasions but today we can get to see it on fabric, hand-made paper and canvas. The art passes down from generation to generation in Mithila, through women.

Madhubani by Indu Kapila

It takes me about 8 to 10 hours to make one Madhubani painting. I prefer completing it on weekends as on weekdays I’m busy teaching various forms of art and craft in my college. Here’s how it goes:

Day 1 – I complete drawing the design on the tracing paper, after which I use a sheet of carbon paper to trace the picture on to the cloth. After I have the outline of my design on the cloth ready, I start with outlining the painting with black colour or marker.

Day 2-3 – It’s time for filling the colours. This takes longer and requires a lot of effort because the pattern of the paintings is very minute. Madhubani art usually uses flat colors with no shading.

As a final touch, I let the painting dry completely and then gently iron my newly done Madhubani work.

Madhubani

These paintings can be made on cloth as well on paper with fabric colours for cloth and poster colours for paper, a black outliner, trace paper and carbon sheet.

About the author: Indu Kapila, 55, is a Textile Design instructor in Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College, Delhi. Along with her masters in Political science, she also holds a diploma in  Textile Designing and Nutrition & Health Education. She has done many other short courses such as Glass Painting, Calligraphy, Madhubani, Candle making, Cookery, etc.

Have a hobby or interest in an art form you would like to share? Send us some pictures and a short write-up at info@parentcareindia.com