Welcome to the historic land of Mithila, home to a beautiful art that is part-myth and part-memory. Today a town called Madhubani in Bihar houses some of the most gifted artists of this tradition. We are proud to present our second film Madhubani – Art from a Sacred Land, which travels to a tiny hamlet in Bihar, home to three generations of women who have dedicated themselves to Madhubani art. Moti and Jyoti Karn have a personal and emotional connection with the art that defines them and flows through their brush. Hear their story, visit their home and fill up your senses in Mithila.
Madhubani
Art from a Sacred Land
Sarmaya presents ‘Madhubani – Art from a Sacred Land’
The stories, histories and personalities behind our short film on the many-layered art of Madhubani
On The Road in Madhubani
Photographer and author Chirodeep Chaudhuri curates a virtual exhibition of photographs taken during Sarmaya's trip to Madhubani
Ulterior Motifs – Icons & Symbols That Define Madhubani Art
A brief look at the techniques, symbols and themes to which Madhubani artists return again and again for sustenance and grounding. These are the artistic and spiritual leitmotifs of Madhubani paintings
The Walls Have Eyes: The discovery and evolution of Mithila art
Richly detailed paintings full of colour and beauty that turned simple homes into wonderlands and told fantastical tales — Mithila has a history of tradition, quietude and rapid change, as much transformed by the outside as from within
Divine, Human, Feminine, Feminist – Mithila art and its women
How a matriarchal art practice emerged in response to conservatism and the patriarchy. Locating the divine as well as the human in Madhubani art
Art of the Unexpected – In conversation with Santosh Kumar Das
Leaping off a firm grounding of artistic legacy, Das has created a space that feels fluid, open and wholly his own. In conversation with the Madhubani artist
Drawing Strength – How Madhubani Artists Have Challenged Caste Oppression
Dalit and Bahujan artists always have infused creative genius into Madhubani painting and kept it relevant. As their struggle for equality rages vigorously in society at large, it flows too through the veins of this art
Crossing Borders with Mithila
In this digital collaboration with the Mithila Museum in Japan, Sarmaya presents a breathtaking selection of works by the first-generation of Mithila artists to stun the global art world
Honeyed Vines – Floral Motifs in Madhubani Art
The flowers of Bihar are both a symbol and an essential ingredient in traditional Mithila or Madhubani paintings
Madhubani or Mithila Painting 
Shiva and Dasha Mahavidyas 
Mithila: Lion and Cub 
Mithila: Two Peacocks