CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Project Report
On
MITHILA CULTURE
(SOCIOLOGY)

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. Sangeet Kumar Satyam
(Assistant professor of Sociology) Roll No: 2040
Course: B.B.A.LLB
Semester – 2nd

1
 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work report in that B.B.A.LLB(Hons) Project report entitled
“Mithila Culture” submitted at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY is an
authentic record of my work carried out under supervision of Dr. Sangeet Kumar. I have not
submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully responsible for my
project report.

SIGNATURE OF THE CANDIDATE

NAME OF THE CANDIDATE: SATYAM

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present project on “Mithila Culture” has been able to get its final shape with the support
and help of people from various quarters. My sincere thanks go to all the members without whom
the study could not have come to its present state. I am proud to acknowledge gratitude to the
individuals during my study and without whom the study may not be completed. I have taken this
opportunity to thank those who genuinely helped me.

With immense pleasure, I express my deepest sense of gratitude to Dr. Sangeet Kumar,
Assistant Professor of History, of Chanakya National Law University for helping me in my
project. I am also thankful to the whole Chanakya National Law University family that provided
me all the material I required for the project. Not to forget thanking to my parents without the co-
operation of which completion of this project would not had been possible.

I have made every effort to acknowledge credits, but I apologies in advance for any omission that
may have inadvertently taken place.

Last but not least I would like to thank Almighty whose blessing helped me to complete the
project.

Satyam
Roll No.: 2040,
2nd semester
Course:
B.B.A.LLB

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 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………. ……………..5

2. HISTORY OF MITHILANCHAL…………………………….…………………………….......8-10

3. CULTURE AND SOCIETY ….………………………………………………………….……..11-12

3.1 Caste and religion

3.2 Language of Mithila region
3.3 Festivals
3.4 Dance forms
3.5 Cuisines
3.6 Mithila Painting

4.SAURATH SABHA ……………………………………………………..………………..15-19

5. FIELDWORK AND DATA………………………...…… …..……………………………...…20-21

6. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS……………………………………………………………...23

1.INTRODUCTION
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Mithila Culture or Mithil Culture refers to the culture which originated in the Mithila region
of Indian subcontinent. Mithila comprises of Tirhut, Darbhanga, Kosi , Purnia , Munger ,
Bhagalpur and Santhal Pargana divisions of India and some adjoining districts of Nepal.
The region is bounded by the Mahanadi River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the
Gandak River in the West and by the foothills of the Himalayas in the north. It extends to
eastern Terai of Nepal.

The people of this region are called Maithils. Maithils also known as Maithili people are
Indo- Aryan ethno- linguistic group from Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili
language and inhabit the Mithila region.

The name Mithila refers to the Videha Kingdom, the Modern day territories that fall within
the ancient boundaries of Videha. During 18th century, when Mithila was ruled by the Raj
Darbhanga, the Britishers annexed the region.

Now a days, one of the art form of the Mithila region, the Mithila Painting or the Madubani
Painting is regaining a lots of glories, after the initiative taken by the Bihar government to
paint the walls with Mithila Painting . Patna railway station walls are now beautifully
painted with the aesthetic Mithila Painting , which is gaining a lots of positive remarks
from the visitors and will help in gaining tourists , which will further enhance the glory and
revenue of the Bihar govt. Moreover the artists who have learnt that art form are getting
employment which will help in revival of the Mithila culture and employment opportunities
to the artists.

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 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1) The researcher tends to extensively study the Mithila Culture history and its heritage.

2) The researcher tends to analyze the reasons behind gradual ending of the Mithila culture.

3) The researcher tends to analyze the initiatives taken by governments and others to preserve the
culture of Mithila.

HYPOTHESIS

The researcher hypothesizes to presume that Mithila Culture have a very significant historical
contribution and is something which makes India a world in itself ,but gradually it is coming to an
end.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The researcher relied on the doctorinal as well as non doctorinal method of research to complete
this project.

SOURCES OF DATA

The researcher will be relying on both primary and secondary sources to complete the project.

1. Primary Sources: Observations , Interviews

2. Secondary Sources: Indian Constitution, Books, newspapers, journals and websites

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 2.HISTORY OF MITHILANCHAL

There are a few recurrent motifs often found in the history of Mithila.
Firstly, it has a history largely based on conjectures and inferences. Especially the history of
ancient Mithila, in the Vedic period, and a huge part of medieval too, epitomize the distinction of
historiography on Mithila. The traditional texts of the Vedas, the Brahmanas,
Smritis, and Jatakas (Buddhist texts) are major sources to decipher the historical that is invariably
entangled with mythical.

Secondly, it has a humble history, war and conquest are not its central preoccupation, which is a
regular feature in history more often than not. Though there are instances of aggression on the part
of Mithila's kingship, they are not of the kind that could be an attraction in the royal annals.
The kings are mostly men of letters with scholarly, philosophical, literary, poetic engagements.
Instances of aggression by kings in Mithila tell tales of their self- defeating escape in many cases.
History has it that any bid at carving out a politically sovereign Mithila eventuated into debacle for
the entire dynasty.

The third point is a gateway to a larger discussion on the idea of Mithila as a politico-cultural
region and Maithili as its language. 1t is about the indefinite landmarks shifting throughout the
history of Mithila, and definite speech-marks in the socio-cultural region called Mithila. It invites
to ponder upon the modem debates on Mithila and Maithili where by certain conflicting streams of
thoughts emerge.

Upendra Thakur, one of the earliest historians writing on ancient Mithila, opens with a remark that
vouches for these recurrent themes. To quote, "There are few regions of India possessing an
ancient civilization, about which we have less definite historical information than the region north
of the Ganges, variously known as Videha, Tirubhukti, or (after the name of its capital) Mithila ,its
history does not center around feats of arms, but around courts given to higher pursuits of learning"

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Mithila: as it were

In the landscape of civilization, Mithila was not called Mithila to begin with. It was rather called
Videha, with the earliest reference to in the Satpatha Brahmana (1000- 600 B.C.). If we go by the
references to it in traditional text such as Brihad-Vishnu Purana, there were twelve names of
Mithila. All these names are 'descriptive epithets'. Out of these, only three gains in significance.
First being that Videha lost its currency of usage in medieval times. Tirubhukti was the popular
name of the region.

On the other hand, however, there are multiple versions of stories to suggest the antiquity of the
term Mithila. To settle with one: Nirni, the son of an Ayodhya king Manu, came to this part of
earth which was loftily termed 'land of sacrifices' Videha, and his son Mithi built a city named after
him as Mithila. Mithi, as the builder of the city earned the epithet Janaka and the city Mithila
acquired the status of capital town of Videha. Another version is that Mithi was the name of a sage
after whom the region was called Mithila (Jha 1958).

The name Janaka is a point of polysemy in the history of ancient Mithila. It appears like an epithet
earned by all those who created something. It is a family name for a creator. Thus, the father of
Sita, the king named Siradhwaja bears the suffix 'Janaka'.This is albeit not the Janaka who is
hailed, in texts and also routine talks in Mithila, as a philosopher-king of Mithila.. Janak, the father
of the protagonist Sita of the epic Ramayana, is often confused with Janak - the king philosopher.
But the common between them is that they are both located in a mythological context rather than in
historical, in modem sense of historiography. Historians on Mithila resort to inferences from the
traditional texts to make sense of the region and its people in olden times.

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 3.CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Culture and Society is an a major aspect to know and understand any society. Mithila society after
observing enormously, I have found as one of the best and interesting . There are many intriguing
and unique things I have known while studying and observing about the Mithila Culture . To
understand everything in a better manner , I have further subdivided the topic into five parts which
are as following :

3.1Caste and religion

3.2 Language of Mithila region

3.3 Festivals

3.4 Dance forms

3.5 Cuisines

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 3.1 .CASTE AND RELIGION

Caste and religion of Mithila is somehow similar to the entire Indian caste and religions. Hinduism
is the religion practiced by the majority of peoples of Mithila region, followed by Islam and
Christianity . Very few peoples follow other religions like Buddhism , Jainism, Sikhism etc. The
religious practices of the Maithils is based on orthodox Hinduism as Mithila has historically been a
principal seat of Hindu learning.1

Many ethnic groups and castes inhabit the Mithila region, these include Maithil
Brahmins, Rajputs, Bhumihars, Kayasthas, Ahirs, Kurmis, Koeris, Baniyas and many more.2

Maithil Brahmins are the Hindu Brahmin community of the Mithila region. They are one of the
five Pancha-Gauda Brahmin communities.3 They are also noted for panjis, the extensive
genealogical records maintained for the last twenty-four generations.

Rajputs are scattered throughout the region and are divided into various sub-clans with the most
prominent being the Gandhawarias who ruled estates mainly in Saharsa and Madhepura. The
Rajputs of Mithila maintain social and marital relations with Rajputs of other regions.4

Traditionally Maithils lived in Badaghars called longhouses with big families of many generations,
sometimes 40–50 people. All household members pool their labor force, contribute their income,
share the expenditure and use one kitchen.5

Mithila regionalism unites Maithils of India and Maithils of Nepal from both sides of international
border. Since they share a common history, language, culture, and ethnicity, they feel part of one
Mithila. Positive events on one side of the international border are celebrated on the other side, and
negative events are mourned on both sides.6

1
"A History of Indian Logic: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Schools".
2
"Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective". pp. 32–35.
3
Venkatesa Iyengar (1932). The Mysore of Brahmins of Mithila region of Nepal.
4
"The Journal of the Bihar Purāvid Parishad, Volumes 7-8.
5
"Park, hill migration and changes in household livelihood systems of Maithils in Central Nepal" (PDF)
6
"Maithils of India mourned for Maithils of Nepal who losts lives in Janakpur bombing 9205721".
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 3.2 LANGUAGE OF MITHILA REGION

Maithili is the language of the peoples of Mithila region. Maithili, also known as Maitli, Maitili,
Methli,Tirahutia, Bihari, Tirhuti, and Tirhutia, is a member of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-
European language family. Its closest relatives are Magahi and Bhojpuri. Maithili is spoken in
India, primarily in the state of Bihar, as well as in Nepal. The term Maithili comes from Mithila, an
independent Indian state in ancient times. Relatively little is known about the history and origin of
Maithili due to lack of written records, the earliest of which date back only to the 8th century AD.

In India Maithili is spoken by 15 million people in India ,where it is one of the country’s 22
official languages. It is used in education, mass media, such as magazines, newspapers, radio, TV,
and film, as well as in literature.

In Nepal Maithili is spoken by 3 million people in Nepal where it is the second most widely used
language. It is used in informal situations, as well as in education, and in the mass media.

Maithili has a long literary tradition and close to half of all Maithili speakers are literate in their
native language as well as a second or third language, such as Hindi or Bengali, and English. It was
the literary language of all of eastern India in medieval times and was an official language of the
court. It was traditionally written in the Mithilakshar script which is most closely related to
the Bengali script. The close relationship of Maithili to Bengali, and more distantly to the Oriya,
and Assamese scripts, is due to their common origin from the Proto-Bengali script which, in turn,
developed from the Brahmi script around 1,000 AD. An effort is underway to preserve the Maithili
script and to develop it for use in digital media by encoding the script in
the Unicode standard. Maithili was also written in the Kaithi script, but the Devanagari script is the
script most commonly used for writing Maithili today. 7

7
http://aboutworldlanguages.com/maithili
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 GRAMMAR

Maithili is a highly inflected language that uses suffixes and postpositions to express grammatical
relations.

NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, PRONOUNS

Maithili nouns are marked for the following categories:

 Gender in animate nouns is determined by sex, e.g., bap ‘father’ is masculine, maelmæ ‘mother’
is feminine. Verbs sometimes agree with their subjects in gender, mostly in formal style.
 Number: singular and plural.
 Traditional grammars list six
cases: nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, genitive, instrumental, and ablative. However,
there are no case endings. Instead, case relations are expressed by postpositions.
 There are two classes of adjectives: indefinite and definite. Definite adjectives are marked by a
suffix, while indefinite adjectives are unmarked.
 Pronouns are inflected for person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number, case and honorificity. 2nd and 3rd
person pronouns have high-honorific, honorific, mid-honorific, and non-honorific forms. These
forms require corresponding verbal inflections.

VERBS

The verb system of Maithili is extremely complex. Verbs agree in person with their subjects and
occasionally with their objects. A typical verb in Maithili consists of the following components:
verb stem + tense marker + mood marker + person/honorific marker (for agreement with the
subject of the verb). Verbs are inflected for the following categories:
 person: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
 number ia not marked
 tense: prior past, past, present, prior future, and future
 aspect: imperfective and perfective; aspect is inextricably linked to tense
 voice: active and passive
 mood: indicative, interrogative, imperative, optative, and cohortative

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WORD ORDER

The typical word order in declarative sentences is Subject – Object – Verb. Modifiers generally
precede the nouns they modify

The basic vocabulary of Maithili is Sanskrit in origin, but over the years Maithili has borrowed
words from English, Hindi, Bengali, as well as other neighboring Indo-Aryan languages.

Below are Maithili numerals 1-10 in romanization.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ek du: ti:n cha:ri pã:ch ch’a sa:t a:t‘ nau dash

Take a look at Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Maithili:

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 3.3 FESTIVALS

There are many unique festivals practiced in the Mithila region. Mithila is the land of festivals and
festivals are celebrated in very joyful manner . The only thing I observed while making this project
is that , with the change in time and the peoples becoming advanced they are leaving their
traditions and cultures. With my childhood memories I can recall that earlier when I was kid there
was a festival celebrated by the name of Sama Chakeva in which peoples used to gather and play
every night but the tradition got vanished in the time span of less than 10 years and now in that
locality no celebrates that festival.
The major festivals which is somehow unique and played only in those regions are as following:8

 JUDE SHEETAL

Jude Sheetal (জজজজজ জজজজ / জজজ़़ জজজজ) or Maithili New Year is the celebration of
the first day of the Maithili new year. This day usually falls on 14 April on Gregorian calendar by
the Maithils in Mithila region of India and Nepal.

8
http://local.mithilaconnect.com/articles/12-mithila-festivals
14
On this occasion in mithila people consume badi – bhaat prepared a day before. In this maithil
festival people donate earthen pitcher containing water to Brahmins..

 NAAG PANCHAMI

This is the festival of snake god.On this day in mithila , people offer the snakes milk and rice corn
as a sign of devotion. Devotees on this day paste pictures of Nag over their doorways with cow-
dung.

 CHAUTH CHANDRA or Chaurchan

This festival of mithila is a worship of the moon god for the welfare of family. People prepare
dishes like poori and pedokia and consume them after the puja in the evening.

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  KOJAGRA

“Kojagara” is celebrated to propitiate the Goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi. This festival is observed
on the night of full moon in the month of Ashwina. “Kojagara “, literally means the night of
awakening.

 SAMA CHAKEVA

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Mithilanchal dedicates this festival to the celebration of the brother sister relationship. Sama
represents the tradition of this land as well as the art of making idols. Sama festival starts with the
convivial of the pair of birds sama-chakeva. Girls make clay idols of a variety of birds and decorate
them in their own fixed ways. Various rituals are performed and the festival happily ended with the
‘vidai’ of sama and with a wish that these flora and fauna return to this land the next year.

 BHATRI-DWITIYA

This is a festival of brother and sister in mithila.Brother visits his sisters house and take blessings
from her.The sister observes a fast untill brother’s arrival , she also prepared food for her brother.

 CHATH PUJA

Observed mostly by the people of North Bihar, it is dedicated to the worship of the Sun God and
therefore, is also known as ‘SuryaShashti’. Chhath is considered a means to thank the Sun for
bestowing the bounties of life on earth and also for fulfilling particular wishes.

17
  DEVOTHAN EKADHASI

This vrat of mithila is a worship of lord vishnu. People practice this festival to wake up the god
who is already sleeping from four months.

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 3.4 DANCE FORMS

The folk dances of Mithila are religious, social or sectarian. In the religious type, gods and
goddesses are invoked through the dance, performed to the rhythm of folk songs and such musical
instruments as the Dhol (drum), Pipahi (an instrument like the Shehnai), Pakhawaj and Danka. The
Ram-leela nach, Bhagat nach, Kirtaniya nach, Kunjawi nach, Naadi nach, Vidyapat nach and Puja
Arti nach are all religious folk dances of Mithila.9

Songs and musical instruments accompany folk dances for men and the footwork of the dancers is
in tune with the Swar and Tal of the music.

In mithila ,although women folk are not given too much liberty to express in terms of dance and
related forms,some classical forms of maithil dance even have evolved pertaining to its long span
of rich history.

Some of the dances, exclusively for women are Jhijhiya nach, Jat-Jatin nach, Sama-Chakwa nach,
etc. The only mixed group dance is the Saturi dance of Mithila, apart from the mixed folk dances of
the tribal people. In the family dance, called Bakho nach, the husband and wife participate on the
occasion of the birth of a child or on a similar joyous occasion. The different lower-caste groups
have their own exclusive dances, such as Chamar natua, Kanala mai nach, Dampha-Basuli nach
(only for shoemakers), etc.

9
http://local.mithilaconnect.com/news/16-maithil-dance-forms
19
 3.5 CUISINES

Maithil cuisine is such a practice that serves all kind of need of all group of people for different
kind of consumptions. The service style of the cuisine has little similarity with that of “Tabal d’
hote” ( Table of the Host) of French , yet different being all preparations served together in a
platter and consumed at once . Since there is no course wise meal practice therefore there is no well
defined Gastronomique practice too, and hence people give equal importance to all kind of
preparations and take pleasure in enjoying each n every delicacies to the fullest. Unlike others
Maithils enjoy both the quality and quantity of the food and this is the characteristics that
differentiates the cuisine and people from others. The best manifestation of this seen in any
Traditional Maithil wedding ( considered to be a very classical marriage ceremony ever in any
culture.) The rituals of the marriage continues for four consecutive days and small- big family
activities happening for an year almost. The hospitality offered and marriage ceremony is an untold
story in its own. The dinning activity continues for 3-4 hrs with a group of domestic women
performing their folk songs.10

Maithils always give immense priority to milk products in their food which could perfectly be
measured with this old saying “ Aadi Ghee aur Ant Dahi, oyi Bhojan k Bhojan kahi” ( A meal is the
Meal that starts with Ghee and ends with Yogurt)

Mithila food culture is quite distinct and most of its food are not quite famous outside
Bihar or Jharkhand. Some food has similarities with Bengali food and North Indian food but
preparation and taste is entirely different.

All of the mithila food is prepared in mustard oil and important ingredient includes coriander,
turmeric and red chili powder.

Maithil dinner/lunch food plate has essentials including but not limited to Chawal/Roti, Dal,
Primary Sabzi/Rohu fish/Meat, Bhujia/Chokha, Chatni.

Here is some list:

10
http://mithilacuisine.blogspot.com/2007/10/about-cuisine.html
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1. Rohu Fish Fry:

Rohu is an auspicious staple food for Maithili people and at occasions, Rohu fish fry is presented to
guest just like someone serve sweets to people in other culture.

Rohu fish fry is prepared by mixing pieces of Rohu fish simply with turmeric powder and garlic
paste and frying it in wok at high flame.

2. Rohu Fish Curry:

Rohu fish curry in mithila style is essentially prepared with mustard paste mixed with garlic.

Preparation: After frying fish in above mentioned manner, curry is prepared separately by frying
mustard and garlic paste in mustard oil just perfectly and water is added. Only turmeric, corriander
and cilli power is used as spices.Under fry or over fry causes different types of bitter taste. Fried
rohu is dipped in boiling curry and fish curry is ready to serve.

3. Arikonch tarkari: We sabzi is fondly called tarkari is all bihari languages and also included in
hindi dictionary.

This is dish made of Colocasia and is prepared in the same manner like fish curry.

4. Baigan/ Saijman adauri k tarkari: Adauri is something exclusive to Mithila. These are
floor/dal dumplings similar to badi in north India/other part of bihar but are smaller in side and
different in taste.

Baigan is round or long brinjal and Saijman is bottle gourd.

You fry Adauri in mustard oil and mix it with other vegetable and cook it using only turmeric,
coriander and chili powder as spices.

For preparation method, visit this page : Mithila Cuisine

5. Kachri and Tarua : Onion pakoda is called kachri and Vegetable pakoda is called Tarua.

It is prepared using paste of rice powder for crispy taste of simply with gram flour called besan.

6. Sukhua : Sukhua means something which is sun dried. So some vegetable like cauliflower are
sun dried like adauri and papad and are preserved in jars so as to prepare later in the same manner
as any vegetable.

7. Meat: Mutton curry is called meat in Bihar/Mithila and is prepared in different style from rest of
India using mustard oil and same set of spices i.e turrmeric, chili powder and coriander powder on
chopped onion.

21
8. Dal puri: Dal stuffed pan fried puri.

9. Gughani: Grams cooked in the same manner as cooked elsewhere in India.

10. Kadi badi: Well these are besan curry (gran floor curry) which can be found in almost all
cultures in India but the difference with Mithil's curry badi and besan curries prepared elsewhere is
with its softness and simplicity of dumplings.

In mithila, dumplings are prepared after rubbing besan paste for quite a long time so that it
becomes more soft and nothing is added except turmeric and salt with besan unlike besan
dumplings in other part of India where adding onion, vegetables or chilies are common. Remember
if the dumplings are not plain and soft then it is not Kadi badi but Kadi pakoda.

11. Pitha : Pitha is a common dumpling snacks in eastern India but what makes Maithil pitha
different is its simplicity. While other states in India like Odissa, Bengal and Assam has variety of
pitha dishes, Maithil pitha is plain and simple.

These are steamed dumplings where outer cover made of rice flour and stuffed with chana dal.

12. Paratha : Well paratha is as common as roti in India but what makes a maithil/bihari paratha
different from rest of India is its shape. Plain paratha in Bihar is triangular in shape and is layered
inside.11

11
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-dishes-in-Maithili-culture-that-are-also-famous-in-North-India-2
22
 3.6 MITHILA PAINTING
The history of Madhubani paintings
A 2500-year-old folk art, the history of Madhubani paintings is said to date back to the time of
Ramayana, when king Janaka asked an artist to capture his daughter Sita’s wedding to prince
Rama. These paintings were usually created by women on walls and floors of homes during
festivals, ceremonies or special occasions. Having originated in the Mithila region in Bihar, this
form of painting, also known as Mithila art, has been in practice in areas around Bihar and Nepal.

Mithila painting or Bhitti Chitra was discovered in 1934 when a massive earthquake hit Bihar. The British
Colonial officer of Madhubani district, William G. Archer chanced upon these paintings in the interior walls of
the homes while he was examining the damage caused by the quake.12

What’s so special about Madhubani?

So how are these paintings made? Interestingly, Mithila or Madhubani paintings are done using fingers and twigs
as well as matchsticks and pen nibs in the modern day. Usually bright colours are used in these paintings with an

12
https://www.craftsvilla.com/blog/history-of-madhubani-art-paintings-will-leave-you-in-awe/
23
outline made from rice paste as its framework. There are rarely any blank spaces in these paintings. If there’s a
border, it is embellished with geometric and floral patterns. Natural dyes are used for the paintings. For example,
charcoal and soot for black, turmeric extract for yellow, red from sandalwood, blue from indigo and so on.

Madhubani paintings are charactersied by figures that have prominently outlined, bulging fish-like eyes and
pointed noses. The themes of these paintings usually include natural elements like fish, parrot, elephant, turtle,
sun, moon, bamboo tree and lotus. Geometric patterns can also be seen in these pictures that often symbolize
love, valour, devotion, fertility and prosperity. This ancient art form has also been known to depict scenes of
wedding rituals, religious rituals and different cultural events such as festivals, from mythology like Ramayana.13

Madhubani art in present times

Madhubani painting is still practiced by many women in Ranti village of Bihar. In fact, Karpuri Devi, sister-in-
law of known artist Mahasundari Devi, Dulari, and Mahalaxmi are women from three generations of the village
who have made extensive efforts to keep the art form alive by educating other women in the village and teaching
them how to make Mithila painting a way of life and take the legacy forward. The legacy of kapuri devi, Dulari
devi, Satya still continues in the streets of madhubani. Works of the three women have been commissioned by the
government of India and also found a place in the Mithila museum of Japan.

13
https://www.gallerist.in/madhubani-paintings
24
These women aim to empower other women through painting and creating awareness on issues like education
and eve-teasing. They are encouraging their students to paint on topics that are closer to their hearts – anything
from folk tales they might have heard during their childhood to the status of women in the society today. It is
interesting to note how paintings that were done by women to depict religion, traditions and social norms are now
being used by them to make their voices heard.

How Madhubani paintings saved a forest

In 2012, more than 100 trees were decorated using Madhubani painting. Shashthi Nath Jha, who runs the Gram
Vikas Parishad, an NGO, started the initiative as an attempt to protect trees that were being cut down in the name
of expanding roads and development. This proved to be an effective way to make the villagers aware of its
consequences like climate change and global warming.
Interesting, isn’t it? More intriguing is, while the campaign was an expensive one (the villagers used synthetic
paint to make the artwork last longer), not a single tree was cut down. The main reason behind this was the trees
being adorned with forms of gods and other religious and spiritual symbols like Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita,
scenes from Ramayana and Mahabarata and other mythologies. This instilled reverence and prevented the trees
from being cut.14

14
https://indigoarts.com/galleries/mithila-or-madhubani-paintings-bihar-india
25
Madhubani artists
Literally translated as honey from the forest, Madhubani got recognition when Sita Devi, a painter received the
state award in 1969 and Jagdamba Devi was given a Padma Shri in 1975. The government also awarded Sita
Devi the National Award that year.

Madhubani artist Bharati Dayal

Another noted Madhubani painter is Bharati Dayal. Her work finds a place of pride among many
collections, like the Ministry of External Affairs; India, Minister of Commerce, US Embassy, First
Secretary, US Embassy; Seba Musharraf, wife of former Pakistan President, Parvez Musharraf and
Museum of Eminence, Norway to name a few. Dayal was awarded the National Award in 2006 and
the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award in 2013.

Her works have also been displayed at Craft Exchange Program of SAARC Countries Meet at
Delhi Hatt, Pritampura in 2008; Indiart Gallery, Belgium in 2013 and at the Nehru Centre, London
in February 2011 among many others.15

Madhubani beyond paintings

Today, Madhubani art piques interest in art lovers from different countries like USA, Australia, UK
15
https://www.artzolo.com/madhubani-paintings
26
and Russia. Patterns from this art form have also found their way onto various items like bags,
cushion covers, coasters, mugs, crockery and mouse pads.

So, how exactly did an art form from rural India get noticed around the world? In 1960’s when
draught hit Bihar, the All India Handicrafts Board encouraged upper caste women in villages
around Madhubani town to make the ritualistic paintings on paper to generate income. Slowly the
style of painting found its way onto many articles from greeting cards to salwar kameez materials.

Madhubani remains ever popular on the home décor front in the form of prints for table linens,
napkin rings, and lamps and most importantly on wall hangings. Mostly because Mithila art was
originally used for decorating walls and floors of homes.

The beautiful patterns of these paintings don’t seem to have been used by Indian designers. But
they have found their way onto silk sari borders, dupattas, kurtis and more. Here’s to making our
lives a bit richer by paying tribute to our nation’s heritage and buying some authentic Madhubani
art.

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 4.SAURATH SABHA

Saurath is a village situated six Kilometers north east of Madhubani town in Madhubani District
of Bihar, India. It is famous for being the place where thousands of Maithil Brahaman converged to
fix marriage during marriage season. The people gathered at Saurath Sabha Gachchhi (Sabha
means congregation and Gachchhi mean orchard in Maithili).16This gathering is an annual event
held in the Hindu calendar months of Jyestha-Aasadh. This was an important social congregation
where the marriages of Maithil boys and girls are fixed up according to the reading of horoscope by
the Panjikars ( Registrars ). The gathering is organised in an orchard covering 22 bighas of land
that was donated by the Maharaja of Darbhanga. .

This festival brings together many Brahmin families to negotiate their children’s marriages. This
700-year-old festival witnesses the gathering of parents and other family members of prospective
brides and grooms. Their marriage is then fixed after the genealogical records are checked in an
elaborate manner by the community marriage registrars known as ‘Panjikars’.

16
"Saurath Sabha only part of folklore", The Times of India (25 Nov 2006)
28
Two decades ago, Saurath Sabha Gachhi (the orchard, where the event is held) used to attract more
than 100,000 people from across the country. But this custom has been fading. We wish to bring
this very interesting and important tradition back to life to facilitate marriages.

This village was originally named as Saurasta which means an intellectual and cultural centre of
‘sau-rastra’ or the nations associated with the Mithila king Janaka. 17

Like many other customs and traditions, this festival had also been losing its age-old sheen over the
years, with people moving away to other places. The tradition that was lost somewhere amidst the
hustle and bustle of modern life is being revived by a socio-cultural organisation ‘Mithilalok
Foundation’

This foundation has decided to take up the responsibility of reviving this unique tradition. There is
a similar assembly being organised by them on June 25 where they are expecting a participation of
around 20,000 people coming from different places in the Mithila region.

17
http://www.hindu.com/2004/06/22/stories/2004062209300300.htm accessed on Jan08
29
5. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

30
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

"A History of Indian Logic: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Schools".

"Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective".

Venkatesa Iyengar (1932). The Mysore of Brahmins of Mithila region of Nepal.

"The Journal of the Bihar Purāvid Parishad, Volumes 7-8.

"Park, hill migration and changes in household livelihood systems of Maithils in

Central Nepal" (PDF)

"Maithils of India mourned for Maithils of Nepal who losts lives in Janakpur
bombing 9205721".

http://aboutworldlanguages.com/maithili

http://local.mithilaconnect.com/articles/12-mithila-festivals

http://local.mithilaconnect.com/news/16-maithil-dance-forms

http://mithilacuisine.blogspot.com/2007/10/about-cuisine.html

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-dishes-in-Maithili-culture-that-are-also-
famous-in-North-India-2

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https://www.craftsvilla.com/blog/history-of-madhubani-art-paintings-will-leave-you-
in-awe/

https://www.gallerist.in/madhubani-paintings

https://indigoarts.com/galleries/mithila-or-madhubani-paintings-bihar-india

https://www.artzolo.com/madhubani-paintings

"Saurath Sabha only part of folklore", The Times of India (25 Nov 2006)

http://www.hindu.com/2004/06/22/stories/2004062209300300.htm accessed on
Jan08

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