Madhubani

Art from a Sacred Land

/ read / October 15, 2020 / Spotlight

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.

Sarmaya presents ‘Madhubani – Art from a Sacred Land’ - Bihar, featured, Jagdamba Devi, Jitwarpur, Jyoti Karn, Madhubani, Mithila, Moti Karn, Natural Dyes, Satyanarayan Karn

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 - Bihar, Chirodeep Chaudhuri, Jitwarpur, Madhubani, Mithila, photography, Travelogue

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 - Bihar, Brahmin, Buddhism, Caste, Dalit, featured, Gobar, Godna, Gods & Goddesses, Hinduism, Kayashta, Madhubani, Mithila, Motifs, Natural Dyes, Nature, Poetry & Nature

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 - art history, Baua Devi, Bihar, Dulari Devi, featured, Folk and Indigenous Art, Indian Mythology, Madhubani, Manisha Jha, Mithila

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 - Baua Devi, Bharani, Bihar, featured, Feminism, Godna, Kachani, Madhubani, Mithila, Moti Karn, Natural Dyes

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 - Bihar, featured, Madhubani, Mithila, Santosh Kumar Das, SK Das

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 - Bihar, Caste, Chano Devi, Dalit, Dulari Devi, featured, Jamuna Devi, Madhubani, Malvika Raj, Mithila, Shrawan Paswan, Urmila Devi Paswan

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 - featured

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 - featured, Flowers, Flowers for Spring, Jyoti Karn, Madhubani, Mithila, Moti Karn, Poetry & Nature, Satya Narayan Lal Karn

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 art or Mithila paintings of the Goddess Kali

Behind Painted Walls: The Story of Baua Devi & Mithila Painting

When an earthquake hit Bihar’s Jitwarpur in 1934, it exposed a most exquisite form of art that had remained hidden for well, no one knows how long