Madhubani Jewelry by The Color Caravan

This summer has all been about carrying forward the art of innovation and design in our approach to handicrafts. The Color Caravan has yet again ventured into the mesmerizing art of Madhubani thanks to the popular demand for Madhubani beaded neck-pieces which were launched in 2011.

Madhubani jewelry launched by The Color Caravan in 2011

We were energized to envision a new style of wearable craft evolved from our earlier Madhubani neck-piece designs. Our summer intern Dhanushree Dhasmana, a student of Lifestyle & Accessory Design from National Institute of Design(Gandhinagar) developed the 'new 'Madhubani necklace collection. Dhanushree co-created these Madhubani  neck-pieces along with our colleague Kanchan who assisted her on this project and of course our very talented Madhubani artist Hira Devi.

Our partner artist Heera Devi

Once again, we gave some wooden rings to Heera di and asked her to  paint them over in vivid colors with Madhubani Art. Our aim was to take these beautiful round concoctions and to forge them into contemporary masterpieces. To conceive a bold accessory which shall make a distinct fashion statement for the women of today.

With this idea we indulged into the different exotic combinations of materials which accentuate the wooden rings. We experimented with various compositions along with resham (silken) threads, brass metal sheet, brass ghungroos, wooden beads and metal beads.

These explorations lead to the creation of fascinating joineries from which we selected the sequences which brought out the perfect blend of the craft, color and life. These visually impressionistic compositions were ready to intrigue and conquer our followers.

Our research on a distinct theme board, mood board and color palette directed us to a mesmerizing fusion we wished to achieve. For the women in power, ready to ‘bring some bling’ in their styled apparel, this new range of neck pieces were discovered.

There were four ranges developed from these inaugurations.
The first range incorporates three exquisite wooden rings, brought together by a blast of bold coloured resham(silken) threads and cords. A bunch of small brass ghungroos have been further added to the neck piece to add a little playfulness to the beholder’s walk.

The second range is one of our festive compositions. The three wooden rings are brought together by golden zari thread, black resham (silken) threads and a exuberant clinking bunch of small golden ghungroos.

The third range is an inventive, western attempt with entrancing combinations of wooden rings of adjustable length variety. These rings have been designed such as to attract a sense of individuality in all generations.

The fourth range of neck piece involves an unconventional yet magnetic blast of colors; contrasting resham (silken) threads, wrapped around the wooden rings, have been used to “trendify” the vibrant beaded chain. This combination of the wooden rings with different tubular beads brings a youthful extravaganza to the apparel.

The earlier range of Madhubani neck piece is back on popular demand. These pieces includes decorous and stimulating combinations of different styles of round and flat beads joined together with wooden rings. This conception aims to bring a complete look to the Indian apparel, representing a powerful persona.

The entire collection is available on our eStore here.

 The Color Caravan owns copyright for all the photographs in this post. Cannot be used in any form without written permission.

Madhubani Art

The Madhubani meta-cluster districts of Madhubani, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur lie upon the ancient land of Mithila famed for its cultural heritage, finding its origins in the Ramayana. It is believed that on the occasion of his daughter's wedding, Janaka; the ruler of Mithila asked his kinfolk to decorate the floors and walls of the kingdom with painting and thus Madhubani originated. True to their land, the people in this region continue to maintain a unique sense of culture and art.

Surrounded by the Himalayas on the north and the Ganga's water-network in the other three directions, it is believed that Madhubani's geographical seclusion aids the flourishment of this unique cultural mileu. Headed by the conservative Maithil Brahmins, this region is home to a strict caste discipline which seems to dictate all aspects of socio-cultural life, including its rich craft heritage.

Madhubani artist at work

 

 

Mithila's crafts exist within a delicate balance of all these factors, coupled with gender
roles - it has been observed that Madhubani paintings are only done by women; murals painted by Dushads (those on the lower boundaries of castes) depict the harsh realities of social divide.


Madhubani artist at work

Madhubani seems to draw its main influence from Hindu rituals, mythical figures, gods and goddesses. The artists also draw symbols from their natural surroundings which abound in aquatic flora and fauna. These natural motifs and linked with symbolic meanings - the turtle is a symbol of Vishnu, the Snake is perceived as the guardian of the underworld, and the lotus and bamboo symbolize female and male sexuality respectively. Ritual paintings accompany auspicious occasions and find their way on the walls of people's homes when newly weds arrive, or on the birth of a child.



Madhubani artist at work

                                            
Madhubani paintings have been prevalent in three forms, Aripona or floor art; Bhitti Chitra or wall paintings and Godana meaning tattoos. Natural colors of rice paste, turmeric and sindoor are traditionally used by the women to create such paintings. Wall paintings made by upper caste Brahmin women derive their themes from mainstream Hindu worship, whereas the mud murals made by the Dushads revolve around their epic, Mahagatha, and its protagonist, Raja Sailesh.

Though it is rather well known today, Madhubani was originally discovered by co incidence. Government officials touring the region in 1966 due to an ongoing drought discovered this art form and realizing its true potential, urged the women to start painting on paper for commercial purposes.That was the time when Madhubani broke free from its ritualistic ties and truly blossomed as an art form.

Most commonly sold as paintings on paper and saris, the commercialization of this art has come to empower the women of this region, otherwise plagued with gender differences and a strong patriarchy.

We at The Color Caravan have tried to further the scope of this art-form by partnering with individual artists and self-help groups co-creating one of a kind Madhubani crafts, hoping to reach more people and creating awareness.

Following are some of the products that we've created with our partner artists over last 2.5 years.

 

 

 

 

 

Check out some of our Madhubani art products currently available at our eStore.

(The Color Caravan owns the copyright for all the photographs in this post. Cannot be used in any form without permission.)

Bibliography: Handmade in India
 

Artist Talkies: Madhubani Artist: Shabnam Kumari aka Mini

This post is dedicated to our partner artist who evokes beauty in her works on Madhubani Art. Shabnam Kumari or Mini as she is fondly called is from a small village called Laxmipur in Madhubani district, Bihar. She comes from a family of women who have been trained in this artistic profession of making Mithila paintings for years now. Her interest was nurtured by her amma (mother) Meena Devi, a Madhubani artist. However, Mini believes that her greatest inspiration has been her nani (maternal grand-mother), Mahasundari Devi, a famous madhubani artist and winner of some very prestigious awards like National Award, Nagarjuna Award and Padma Shree. Her grand-mother nurtured the art till Mini picked it up on her own.  

Shabnam Kumari, OUR darling 'Mini'

Mini has been painting since her childhood but she picked up the market aspect of her paintings only in Delhi in 2001. She reminisces during our conversation about how she realized her potential to commercially paint in the Mithila form when she was accompanying her sister, Pushpa Kumari for an event at Pragati Maidan in 2001. A lady at the event realized her potential and offered her the opportunity to paint; And fearless as she is, she took up the offer to craft her own history (her sister was never in on this until the very end!)

                Madhubani Coasters The Color Caravan co-created with Subhnam Kumari.

She married soon after in 2004 and went to Guwahati with her husband. Even though she wished to further her craft there, opportunities never came her way and she went back to a life of family and motherhood with her two kids. Ever since then, she has returned ambitious and has been in a village near Delhi NCR for the past two years. But she now works whenever work comes her way because of her kids. She tells us that she even though she likes being a mother, she misses that pleasure that work accords her. She worries that if work doesn't keep coming her way, she'll soon have to return to Guwahati to her husband.

    Madhubani Coasters

Childhood stories of her association with Madhubani paintings invoke a lot of nostalgia in her. To her, her proudest moment was when she got the opportunity to go to Japan. To her it all began in class 8th, with a Fine Art competition based on Flowers and Leaves or as she calls it - phool patti. A gentleman called Hashigawa came, made his request of paintings that were personally done by the students. Mini rose to the occasion, did a fine painting based on the Goddess Saraswati. This impressed the gentleman so much that he sponsored her trip to Japan soonafter.

This story also corresponds to the story of how she started selling greeting cards to earn money. As kids, one used to gift cards to each other's friends. When her grandmother, Mahasundari Devi, heard of it, she encouraged her granddaughter to sell greeting cards to earn money. This was her first attempt at earning money of her own. But mostly, she realised that her talents in the field of Madhubani paintings could fetch her a unlikely livelihood in the future. 

                                                              Are they not gorgeous?

During our conversation, one story leads to another and Mini can't seem to hold back the stories. She talks about her stint as a college student at Mithila University in Bihar. She remembers going for a Rangoli competition back in those days assuming it were a Mithila painting competition. The first attempt was not a fruitful one as she returned empty handed. But this prompted her to prepare for the competiton the next time.  When she was asked to attend the competition again, she went on to becomimg university first in the field of arts.

She also remembers going to Vardhman University's competition around 1995-97. She recounts how she lost the competition, also losing out on putting the Mithila University on the forefront of arts simply because her skirt ended up ruffling her painting on completion. BHU went on to win the first position she recalls with a sigh.

                                                    " Life is art. Paint your dreams."

                     

For her, art is a constantly evolving process. She remembers how Jyoti Basu made her realize this.  Once during a visit to Calcutta she recalls how he forced her to think of the human effort that is central to such works. He'd ask her whether she could draw from her left hand. She in her innocent vehemence, drew something with her left hand. Which again brought further questioning from Jyoti Basu; he asked her why she began her paintings by starting from the head of the painted subject instead of the toe? This prompted her to draw another painting proving that she could draw starting from the toes. She even drew from the left and right hand to prove how good she was with Mithila paintings.

                   Mini flaunting her Madhubani slippers that she painted for herself.

She is proud of her daughter similarly for garnering an affection for Mithila drawings. Her daughter, she tells us, has been garnering accolades for her drawings and paintings in school. But she prefers that her daughter studies now than concentrate on a lost art.

                                          Her million dollar smile and eyes say it all.

Our conversation ebbs out with one last story of her youth wherein she exercised independence and chose a path less followed. She tried out as a Radio Presenter for a few months.  All she did was script a few stories, went to the radio station and impressed them enough with her stories that she ended up working as a presenter at the station. To her that incident is a crucial piece of history that she carries along with her today.

We are blessed to be working with a wonderful artist like Shabnam Kumari. Her child-like enthusiasm, warm smile, passion for Madhubani painting makes her an asset to the organisation. But mostly, The Color Caravan realizes its family of artists who bring their history into their art and transform us completely.

(The Color Caravan owns the copyright for all the photographs in this post. Cannot be used in any form without permission.)