Navaratri or Navadurga

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Navaratri is now for many decades a nine day private ritual and a public festival celebrated variedly in different parts of the country .Observance of fast and performance of daily rites, once a day in all essentialities, are its common manifestations. It is for such ritual worship that every part of India has its own manifest form of Devi, the poor village folk discovering her in images rendered by their own hands with cow-dung or minerals and vegetables on the wall of their Devaghar, and the rich elite in sophisticated colours and by professional hands on paper or other kind of canvas. This painting of Navadurga represents her Madhuvani manifestation, one of India's most versatile and vibrant folk traditions and art-forms. The painting is exceptional in its execution, vigour, rhythm and effects. The ritual object of the painting is also evident from the mantra inscribed on its bottom.

The central figure, in padmasana, seated on a thousand petalled lotus and with a distinguished crown-form, has been conceived as the presiding deity form of the Devi. Sarvashcha shodasha bhuja defines the sixteen armed form of all the nine images. They are armed with weapons attributed to Devi at the time of her creation, Shiva's trident, Vishnu's disc, Varuna's conch, Agni's dart, Yama's rod, Vayu's bow, Surya's arrows, Indra's thunderbolt, Kuber's mace, Brahma's rosary and kamandal, Kala's sword and shield, Vishwakarma's battle axe and several other weapons, articles and amulets. All the nine images have in common a sword, trident, bow and arrow, noose, lotus and standard, whereas the dart, snake, bell, disc, kamandal, spear, rod, conch, rosary , abhaya are held by them variedly. Besides the central padmasana image the image in the middle on the top row too is without a vehicle. Of the rest seven images four have lions as their vehicles and the other three a bull, a horse and a goat. The two of the images, the one on presiding deity's right and the other just below her, are only moving along their vehicles.

Simple oval faces, large prominent eyes, broad features and undefined forms, blunt lines, bright basic colours used for arriving at all forms but more for delineating the vivid and minute designs and patterns for embellishing each body part and each inch of space creating rhythm and a feeling of awesome devotionality are features characteristic of Madhuvani art and of all folk art traditions in general. The artist has used upper and lower margins of the painting for drawing on them Devi yantra and the sides, both on left. and right, various manifestations of Devi, the more important being her Kapalika, Chandi, Kali and Padmavati forms.The painting characteristically represents Madhuvani, the great folk art tradition of India.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

Colors of Tradition: Exploring the Artistry Behind Madhubani Paintings

Madhubani painting is also known as Mithila art as it is practiced in the Mithila region of India and Nepal. It has specifically originated from the Madhubani district of the state of Bihar. Traditionally, the women of this region created these paintings and in recent years, it has become a widely practiced art and has now become renowned throughout the world. This art expresses the creativity and culture of the people of Mithila and is passed from one generation to another. In this way, the heritage of Madhubani art has been preserved for many decades. The subjects of these paintings are usually religion, love, and fertility. Sometimes, social events like festivals, weddings, and royal court are also depicted in the paintings. The most commonly painted designs and themes are the forms of Hindu Gods and Goddesses such as Ganesha, Shiva, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Krishna, and Ram. The characteristic features of Madhubani paintings are their vibrant colors and eye-catching geometrical patterns. The empty spaces are filled with traditional motifs such as floral and foliate patterns, animals, birds, geometrical structures, and other designs. The local artists create these paintings using a variety of items such as matchsticks, twigs, brushes, pens, or even their own fingers. The paints are usually made with natural dyes and pigments.
As simple as it may seem, the making process of the world-famous Madhubani paintings is certainly not easy and requires lots of hard labor.

Traditional Madhubani paintings are done either on cloth, handmade paper, or canvas. Select the medium of painting as per your choice. If you have chosen cloth, attach it to cardboard to make a solid base. The making of the painting begins with making a double-lined border. This is a very important step because the border is filled with various geographical shapes and patterns or other motifs. The average width of the border is 1.5 - 2 cm. Now that the border is created, you will be left with a blank middle space. This is the main workspace. Start drawing your choice of figure, designs, and shapes. These must be relevant to the Madhubani painting themes.

When the key design has been made, the empty spaces in between are filled with some designs.
Now is the time to color the painting using vivid shades and hues. Colors in Madhubani are sourced from nature; Indigo is used to produce blue, flower juice produces red, turmeric gives yellow, leaves produce green, cow dung mixed soot gives black, and rice powder gives white.

To paint these colors, the artist uses a bamboo stick and wraps cotton around it. This acts as a traditional brush.
The entire painting is now painted using this special brush with natural vibrant colors. · However, in modern times, the common brush is used and instead of natural colors, artists prefer to use acrylic paints.

Since the entire painting is made with natural materials and colors, it appears simple yet enriching. Originally, this art was created on mud walls or soil grounds but when it evolved over many years, the people of Madhubani started to make it on fabric and paper. Today, this art has become globalized and is receiving worldwide attention and appreciation.