A Rich Inheritance To Draw From

FOR GENERATIONS, THE WOMEN OF MADHUBANI HAVE BEEN FILLING THEIR LIVES AND THE WALLS OF THEIR HOMES WITH ART

- Ambika Vishwanath

It gave us a form, a way to express ourselves,” says Godavari Devi, remembering a time gone by. I am sitting in the modest living room of her home in the small, quiet hamlet of Ranti, near Madhubani town, while she regales us with tales from her travels as a National Award-winning Madhubani artist. Behind her, an entire wall is covered by one of her works—one of the largest paintings we have ever seen. She laughs when we marvel at its size. “This is nothing. You should see the ones I made for the Mithila Museum in Japan, many of them were almost 10 feet long.”

The only other large Madhubani I have seen before was on the wall of the Bihar Museum in Patna. My exposure to the style has only been through paintings in museums and homes. Now, I furiously scribble as I listen first-hand to this artist talk about her extraordinary life, which saw her travel from a small village in Bihar to Germany, the U.S., and Japan. The octogenarian belongs to a generation of pioneer women who brought attention to this unique art form in the 1960s, showcasing their talent and heritage around the world.

Although traditionally painted on the walls of homes to mark festivals and other important occasions, Madhubani art has since moved to paper, cloth, and other surfaces. The style originated in northern Bihar, specifically in the Mithila region, known as the birthplace of Sita; and drew inspiration from the Ramayana, nature, and folklore.