- Madhubani railway station got complete makeover with Mithila paintings. The makeover project was unique initiative of Indian Railways to experiment with local artists voluntarily painting works in short span of two months.
- The initiative of painting the railway station was taken under Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that began in Madhubani from October 2.
- The large Madhubani Painting, which is said to be the only painting in the folk category of such enormous size, has been created by 182 artists that volunteered with an intention to get entry into the Guinness Book of World Record, which unfortunately did not happen.
- Madhubani Paintings are acclaimed worldwide and are said to be used by Bihar Government to improve rural tourism in the State.
Madhubani/Mithila paintings
- This art form is widespread and is quite popular in Darbhanga and Madhubani regions of Bihar along with it, this art form can be found in some of the regions of Nepal as well.
- Madhubani paintings which mean ‘forest of honey ‘also known as Mithila paintings.
- Madhubani Paintings date back to the era of Lord Rama when it is believed that on the occasion of the wedding of Sita and Lord Rama, King Janak invited Madhubani artists to paint the scene to make the moment immortal.
- Initially, only women artists were associated with Madhubani Paintings but later even the male artists joined in. Also, in ancient time, this art form was said to be only for the upper-class women but with time, this limitation was abolished and now the art form has been widespread in rural areas as well.
- Madhubani Paintings were initially could be found on the walls of the houses made of mud in the rural areas, however, later the artists began to use cloth and canvas.
- The various styles of Mithila painting include Bharni, Tantrik, Katchni, Godna, and Kohbar.
- Fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks along with natural dyes and pigments are used by the artists to paint either scenes from an epic or to exhibit man and its association with nature.
- The painting traditionally had scenes from festivals like Holi, Surya Shasti, Durga Puja, Upanayana and Kali Puja along with birth or wedding.
- Mithila painting has been accorded the coveted GI (geographical Indication) status as it has remained confined to compact geographical area and skills have been passed on through centuries, but content and the style have largely remained same.
