Preserving A Heritage

In a world forever changing due to rapid urbanisation, there seems to be little or no space for traditional art forms to survive. Luckily, around 25 years ago, artist Lakhi Chand Jain took it upon himself to breathe new life into the dying Rajasthani art of Mandana painting by reinventing it with his unique brand of Mandanagraphy.

- Beverly Pereira

IT’S HARD TO MISS THE STARK WHITE INTRICATE PATTERNS of Mandana folk paintings against the earthy red floors and walls of village homes across Rajasthan. Once drawn by the skilled hands of the women of the house in a bid to protect the home and mark the start of festivals, these paintings are deeply rooted in the rural landscape of the past. Seeking to revive this vanishing art form, Mumbai-based artist Lakhi Chand Jain began to use an assortment of textures, canvasses and new media for his Mandana paintings, a little over two decades ago. Thanks to his efforts, the art form has made its way from the floors and walls of Rajasthan into the living rooms of city dwellers in India and, quite possibly, other parts of the world.

Lakhi Chand has created over 300 Mandana paintings in various sizes, on both floor and canvas since he started working with the art form. Mandanagraphy, his adaption of the traditional art, is a portmanteau of the words ‘Mandana’ and ‘graphy’. Comparing it to photography, the art of capturing objects or scenes through a camera lens and presenting the image on different surfaces, he says that Mandanagraphy captures the object or subject through the lens of his imagination.

Rooted in village folk life