Tag: indian art

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Madhubani Paintings, Bihar’s Pride

In the year of 1934, a massive earthquake struck the state of Bihar. The then colonial officer of the Madhubani District, William G Archer found a set of Beautiful paintings on the interior walls of the homes that were damaged by the earthquake. Those paintings were the Madhubani Paintings. But the original history dates back thousands of years ago, around the time of Ramayana when King Janaka asked an artist to artistically illustrate his daughter Sita’s wedding to Prince Rama. These paintings were  Madhubani Paintings or Bhitti Chitra. Madhubani paintings are also called Bhitti Chitra as they have originated in the Mithila region of the Bihar border of India & Nepal.

 

The word Madhubani literally means a “Forest of Honey”. Women of all classes and castes used to paint on canvas, cloth, or cow-dung-washed hand paper. They only used Natural dye and colors and the paintings were intricately designed with geometrical figures and vibrant colors. The themes of Madhubani painting varied from religious themes to mythology. A common subject in Madhubani paintings is Ardhanarishvara (a figure depicting two halves of Shiva – a synthesis of His consort Parvati – as a unification of supreme powers), Mythological characters (Ram, Sita, Hanuman, Krishna, and more), and a picture of the elephant king Ashoka. The art is also called the Mithila art because it originated in Mithila at Madhubani District. The words, Madhubani Art, Mithila art, and Mithila paintings are simultaneously and synonymously used to denote such paintings. Today, the district Madhubani is a major exporter of these paintings. India had awarded the GI or geographical indication tag to six Madhubani paintings. These paintings are notable for their two-dimensional portrayal and naturally derived colors which are used in the paintings. The artists do not leave any empty space in the paintings, they carefully fill every gap with imagery of flowers and geometric designs, and sometimes even animals.

 This art form still thrives in the schools of art across Mithila that keep the flame of the talent alive by teaching others, Kalakrithi, Vaidehi, Benipatti, and Gram Vikas Parishad are some of the Famous centers of Paintings.

Madhubani paintings have recently been at the center of attention for their role in environmental conservation efforts in the light of heavy deforestation. In an attempt to protect local trees from being cut down in the name of expanding roads, Shashthi Nath Jha of the Gram Vikas Parishad started the initiative as part of his NGO. These efforts have not only stopped deforestation but attempted to bring back greenery into Bihar which has one of the lowest forest covers in India. 

Today Madhubani paintings are taught to and cherished by young artists who take a genuine interest in drawing Madhubani art. These new artists are more interested in Madhubani art like Radha Krishna Madhubani painting and Peacock Madhubani painting. Drawing Madhubani art can be learned from the schools of art that are trained in the Mithila art. Radha Krishna Madhubani painting is in fact the religious side of the Madhubani art whereas the Peacock Madhubani painting shows the more secular and man to nature relationship that is depicted in the Mithila paintings. While the form of art can be portrayed on any substrate such as walls, clothes, paper, utensils; modern artists are adapting the art form and putting on different kinds of articles.

 

Visit https://kreatmaster.com/listings/categories/indian-traditional-paintings/  for such amazing Indian Paintings. 

Madhubani Paintings have received worldwide attention for their cultural representation and artistic quality.  With its portrayals of themes of religion, love, and fertility, the art not only displays the social structure of the land but also its cultural identity. Expressing the creativity and sensitivity of the land and culture, this art will definitely live on. 

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Reclaiming Glory, Tradition & Heritage through Art.

 

How many of us have actually heard about the beautiful Manjusha paintings or Batik Art? Chances are unlikely. Because they have been an endangered form of art, almost on the verge of extinction. The more we would have explored the detailed work of art and the diverse range & depth it had, we probably would have been in awe of our ancestorial work.  Somewhere along the way, we lost touch with our cultural self and drifted away from the values and traditional skills of our great nation that have been passed down from generations. Bringing back the traditional handicrafts that were once so ingrained in our lives is indeed a heavy task. But we know that it’s worth the effort.

 

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Kreatmaster is a StartUp that focuses on the revival of Traditional handicrafts and services that have faded as the years went by. We aim to provide a digital space for the selling of goods and services to artisans. The Artisans, throughout India, are encouraged to advertise their goods on our website and widen their selling market. This will in fact not only promote the sales but also bring the knowledge and popularity of these goods back to the market. Thereby creating an influx of trade.

Handicrafts are a prime example of indigenous knowledge, traditional cultural expressions of artisans, small or large tribes, and even entire nations and communities at large. Crafting communities invest their labors and merits from generation to generation to create aesthetic and artistic handicrafts that both reflect their intellectual contributions and represent their community lifestyles, allowing them to be protected under the geographical indications (GIs) regime. Despite the fact that these handicrafts may be GI protected but they are on the verge of extinction as they still need an influx of trade to stay afloat on the business, to compete with processed, factory-made goods. Many indigenous crafts have already been lost or are hung by a tiny thread for survival, Dokra idols  Of West Bengal & Odisha, Parsi Embroidery, Toda Embroidery of Nilgiri Hills, Naga Handicrafts of Nagaland being a few of them.

Kreatmaster’s vision is that the handicrafts sector becomes a significant contributor to the Country’s economy and adds not only soulful but financial value to the citizens. It can employ a large number of craftspeople in rural and semi-urban areas, where the rates of unemployment are high and the per capita income is marginal.  Revenue generation within and outside the country happens to be one of the primary goals but at the same time, we get to promote and broadcast India’s cultural heritage and soft power.

Handicrafts have enormous potential because they hold the key to sustaining not only the existing set of millions of artisans spread across the country but also the increasing number of new entrants into this economy. Under Kreatmaster’s long-term vision, the youth of the country will be chosen best of their abilities and interests in their liking of art & Craft and then their skills will be polished by training them not only to make the products but to present them in the international market in the best digital & commercial manner possible.  A push like this will not only make Indian art thrive but and slowly they will find their way back into our homes and lives, where they really belong.

Kreatmaster aims to bring about a change and a return to the pristine ways of life by reclaiming the handicrafts that were once a part of our life and integrating them for our future generations to know them too. So if you know any struggling artisan that is engaged in the traditional trade, introduce them to Kreatmaster. It will change their lives in more than one way.  To know more, visit us at: https://kreatmaster.com/