How Bihar’s artists rode out the Covid crisis with tech & tradition | Meta Stories of Strength 2022 News,The Indian Express
When Covid struck, the only thing selling well was masks. By innovating, adapting and helping each other out, these Madhubani painters in Bihar rose to the challenge and earned a steady income, even during the lockdowns.
When Covid struck, the only thing selling well was masks. By innovating, adapting and helping each other out, these Madhubani painters in Bihar rose to the challenge and earned a steady income, even during the lockdowns.
Legend has it that Madhubani paintings originated when King Janak wanted the kingdom of Mithila decked up for the wedding of his daughter Sita to Lord Rama. History records that Madhubani painting has been practised in Bihar’s Mithila for centuries, reaching a wider audience in the 1930s through a smitten British officer, who had visited the region for earthquake relief work. And in the present, this art form continues to provide livelihood to thousands of women in the region, proving crucial during Covid-19 and the economic distress it caused.
The Mithila region comprises the towns of Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi and adjoining areas in Bihar. Its painting style, called Mithila or Madhubani art, is distinctive, with fine lines and bright colours, historically depicting motifs like the sun, fish, and scenes from the lives of Lord Rama and Krishna, although over the years, many diverse themes have been incorporated. Practised traditionally by women, it was used to decorate the walls of houses, but now can be found on everything from saris and lampshades to handbags and, in the post-Covid world, masks.
It is this merging of their traditional skills with modern needs that helped many women in Mithila ride out the lockdowns, which cut off two major sources of their income – government-organised melas (fairs) where they sold their wares, and public events, where they decorated the venue.
Pooja Jha, a college student, is a Madhubani painter from the village of Ujan. When the lockdown first hit, demand for apparel and décor items went down, she says. “The only thing selling well was masks. In my village, a shopkeeper started making and selling them for Rs 50, and people flocked to him. This inspired other artists to paint masks too. A self-help group would go house to house, collecting masks made by women to sell. But I knew the way to reach more customers was through technology. So I created a Facebook page, Mithila Chitrakala, where I would upload pictures of hand-painted masks. Soon, orders started streaming in,” says Jha.
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