NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 1998

A whiff of fresh air

MAYANK BAHUGUNA

FOLK ART in India has by and large remained neglected, although it has received critical acclaim across the shores. The so-called art afficianodos are content heaping praise on the proponents of modern art, which is beyond the understanding of the common man. In this scenario an exhibition of Madhubani paintings by Manisha Kumari Jha held at IIC came as a whiff of fresh air as the city recled under the assault of another round of heat wave.

Madhubani is a folk art form which is still practiced in parts of north Bihar, otherwise known as Mithila. Rural women paint their houses on festivals and this art form has been passed down the generations through mother hand.

Manisha took to painting as a hobby and was initiated into Madhubani like a proverbial fish to water. Although she went on to study architecture at the Institute of Environmental Design at Vallabh Vidynagar in Gujarat, She never lost touch with her roots. She was a bit apprehensive before holding her first exhibition, yet she decided to go ahead with encouragement coming from all quarters of art circles. In Madhubani Simplicity is the highlight of the painting, with emphasis on sharp Aryan features. These paintings were only done on mud walls of house using natural dyes until urban visitors. Introduced them to paper. Artists such as sita Devi and Ganga Devi have been feted abroad as a part of Indian festivals, but at the grassroots level rural people continue to be exploited and the sun of recognition hasn’t shone on them. Manisha feels strongly on this issue and the sole purpose behind holding an exhibition was to gain recognition for the art form. Lamenting at the lack of attention paid to the rural artists, she says,” Middlemen can huge amounts selling these paintings but give a pittance to the uneducated artists. This art form is dying a slow death. Younger lot has stopped painting”.

The exhibition is a showcase of bright and vibrant colours used with simplicity in two dimensions. Mythological figures are predominantly the subject of these works. Radha Krishna and Ganesh are painted within intricate patterns with a child – like simplicity. Kalpvriksha is known as the tree under which Buddha had attained his enlightenment and Manisha in her painting of Kalpvriksha lets her imagination fly with a tree symbolizing the ecosystem, having eyes and sun and moon on both sides. The black and white work interestingly depicts sun as a man and moon as a woman. The tree has animals hanging on to its branches giving the massage of conservation of environment. Manisha paints spontaneously on a special thick hand-made paper with a rotaring pen for B&W work and a cotton wrapped around a bunch of twigs for colours.

She also did a thesis on Vastushastra and her in depth knowledge of traditional Indian sciences she has used Punch Maha bhuta as a recurrent theme. The square represents earth. Circle water, triangle fire semicircle air and space, While explaining the concept of Vastushastra.

Manisha says Singapore has flourished as a result of its location between a mountain and bed of water, which has a sound basis in Pengshul concept, an oriental parallel of Vastushastra.

A painting needs a frame work which is regular pattern. Dwaitya is a statement on the principle of duality of existence.

Ardhanarishwar is another work which focuses on the concept of duality of nature, the male is painted in black whereas the female is painted in white. The kohbar paintings are specially drawn on the occasion of weddings symbolizing the meeting of two souls. The striking colours leave a colourful pattern of imagery which enthrall all the people visiting the gallery.