Handicrafts India

This form of painting belongs to Bihar. In earlier time, these paintings were drawn on the mud walls of the houses. But now, the painters make use of paper, canvas and clothes. Such kinds of paintings have symbolic touch to them as the signs painted in this art have a meaning behind. Some of the symbols used are moon, ring of lotus, sun, turtles and lost more. They are hand painted by village women with the colors extracted from locally grown plants.

Madhubani painting originated in a small village, known as Maithili, of the Bihar state of India. Initially, the womenfolk of the village drew the paintings on the walls of their home, as an illustration of their thoughts, hopes and dreams. With time, the paintings started becoming a part of festivities and special events, like marriage.

Themes of the Maithili painting of Bihar revolve around Hindu deities like Krishna, Rama, Lakshmi, Shiva, Durga and Saraswati. The natural themes that are used include the Sun, the Moon and the religious plants like tulsi.

One of the many traditional Indian art forms is ‘Madhubani Paintings’ also known as ‘Mithila Paintings’. Madhubani paintings, named after the village Madhubani(Bihar), where it is practiced, find their origin in Indian epic Ramayna.