mithila painting----barheta chapter

Mithila paintings-------Barheta Chapter…..
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Sanjay Mishra
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Mithila school of paintings, in its tumultuous march towards commercialization, has carved out a niche in the global art horizon. In the process, though Madhubani proved to be the formidable fortress, Barheta citadel marked its presence with a bang in the Mithila canvas. Socialization of this art form, without compromising the synergy, saw a new dawn in Barheta, a tiny village.
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Situated on the banks of Bagmati in the outskirts of Darbhanga, this village is bubbling with hope. Women from different strata of society today not only see the realization of their dreams but dare to speak about the future with confidence. Keeping inhibitions at bay, they talk of a new way of life.
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Bina paswan, of Alha village, gives credit to the Bharti Vikas Manch of Barheta. The organization was founded in 1981. The objective was to provide education in Mithila paintings and generate avenues of income. Its founder Krishna Kumar Kashyap, coined the slogan ‘earning while learning’. Reminiscing the days he says—“ It was a daunting task……Mithila art could fetch them bread and butter was unthinkable for them”.
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Women, mostly picked from deprived sections, were a bit hesitant initially. Baptized in socialism, Kashyap, took it as a challenge. Passion paid the result. He consciously transformed mithila art and incorporated Godna( traditional tattoo ) patterns in it. But this simplification effort was not enough to catch the fancy firmly. Himself a veteran artist, Kashyap then turned Mithila art and its Godna variant into utilitarian mode. According to him, this was a satisfying step forward, for it was now congenial for both elite customer as well as the common buyer.
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Bina Paswan has never looked back since then. She now fervently expresses her realm of life and aspirations in her creations. And, she is not alone in this path. Scores of women in rural areas are engaged in this pursuit through 23 centers of BVM in different districts of the state. Even muslim women are engaged in these centers. BVM takes pride in popularizing Godna painting.
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Earlier, Mithila painting was seen as decorative stuff. Slowly, the focus shifted towards the production of daily use items. “ bed covers, cushion cover, table mats, greeting cards, dupatta, kurta, sarees, bags…exhibiting designs of Godna, Gobar and mainstream Mithila painting motifs, enthrall the users.”says Shashibala, the senior artist from BVM.
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Barheta stream is also pioneer in devising academic curriculum for Mithila school of paintings. Books such as ‘Maachh-Bhaat’, ‘Mithila Chitra Shiksa’, ‘Mithila Chitra Praveshika’, ‘Mithila Chitra Kor’ etc have been published. Books of special importance named ‘Geet-Govind’ and ‘Meghdoot’ have also been published. These two books are part of a series being brought out by Kashyap and Shashibala, the ‘Guru- Shisya’ duo. Ethnic ideas of the artist Shiva, who hails from Jitvarpur, are also being taken for this ambitious series.
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Hallmark of the series are, thematic translation, eye-soothing illustrations encompassing designs and motifs from all the variants of Mithila paintings, and last but not the least, the use of hand-written texts. Elements of the life of Mithila, have been intertwined giving cushy touch. It can safely be described as Mithila brand ‘Meghdoot’ and ‘Geet-Govind’. Kashyap is of the view that Mithila painting connects Jaydev and Vidyapati. Obviously, Vidyapati is next in the list of poets in the series. The work on Vidyapati is in full swing.
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Kashyap has traveled to European countries on many occasions to teach and propagate the Mithila art. In August this year, he will be on a trip to Italy and Spain. After returning from abroad, he will be presenting a detailed proposal to the government, for the establishment of an Art University for Handicrafts in Mithila. Once a school dropout, Kashyap had himself cherished to convert Bharti Vikas Manch into a universal knowledge center of Mithila art and crafts. But financial bottlenecks thwarted him. He firmly believes that Mithila art has the potential of becoming a tool in the conservation of natural resources of this region.
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the last mughals.....

The Last Mughals……..
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Sanjay Mishra
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Darbhanga – 21-04-11
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William Dalrymple , the author of ‘ The Last Mughal ’, did not appreciate the state of history writing in India. He is pained that such writings ignored the sense of history of Indian people. Dalrymple would have tempted to change his faith in Indian people’s sense of history, had he ever visited Darbhanga. Yes, the last of Mughals did stay at Darbhanga for odd 29 years but denizens here, at large, are unaware of it. Yes, Darbhanga proved to be the last post of the main branch of Bahadur Shah Jafar’s dynasty.
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Jubairuddin Bahadur Gurgan, the grand-son of Bahadur Shah Jafar, took refuge in Darbhanga in 1881, and stayed till his death in 1910. In fact, the Britishers were hankering after the blood of members of Bahadurshah family. But , Laksmiswar Singh, the Maharaja of Darbhanga, not only gave shelter to him, but assured him of full security. According to Mustaq Ahmad, the author of Atish-e-Pinhan(portraying the life of Jubairuddin), Laksmiswar Singh had connections in the House of Lords.
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Thus, assured of security, Jubairuddin spent his days in writing book. He wrote three books namely, Chanistan-e-Sukhan( poetry), Masnavidur-e-Shawar(epic) and Mauz-e-Sultani.
“Mauz-e-Sultani sheds ample light on the administrative situation in different riyasats, where as Masnavi talks about Raj Darbhanga and the strings of Mithila culture in great detail….these books are treasure trove for historians ” said Mustaq Ahmad.
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Kalyani Foundation, run by Maharani of erstwhile Darbhanga Raj, published Mauz-e-Sultani recently. But this is based on the copy of Mauz-e-Sultani preserved in Khuda Baksh library of Patna. According to Paras, the librarian of Kalyani Foundation Library, one of the original copies of Mauz-e-Sultani is in the possession of Raj family. Mustaq Ahmad corroborates this and claims to have seen the original copy in the library of Kumar Shubheswar Singh. He said that this copy exibits the signature of Jubairuddin.
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William dalrymple mentions about Dara Bakht, but is silent on Jubairuddin. Lala Sriram in his book ‘Khum-khan-e-Javed’, published in 1917, from luchnow, gives the genealogy of Bahadur Shah family. This book refers to Jubairuddin as the successor of Mughal throne( in third volume, page 618-19). Dara Bakht, the eldest son of Bahadur Shah , had died before the 1857 mutiny. So according to Mughal tradition, Jubairuddin, the only son of Dara bakht, was heir to the throne at Delhi. But the mutiny had changed the scenario. Five sons of Bahadur Shah were butchered by Britishers near ‘Khooni Darwaja’ in Delhi. Rais Bakht, the only surviving son retired to Calcutta in ‘Matia Burz’ locality. He died there in 1861.
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Jubairuddin, the claimant to the Mughal throne, fled from Delhiin 1858 and remained underground for years in Varanasi. It was at Varanasi, that he first met Laksmiswar Singh in 1880. Laksmiswar Singh invited him to Darbhanga. Jubairuddin came to Darbhanga, the very next yearafter wandering through many places.
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A house was built for him by Laksmiswar in Kazi Muhalla, now a days known as Kathalbari. This place is adjacent to the Raj campus. A mosque was also built for him. The two sons of Jubairuddin died of Cholera in 1902. His wife also died the same year. Jubairuddin breathed his last in 1910. His mortal remains were buried on the bank of Dighhi Lake near Darbhanga junction. A mazaar, made of red sand-stone, was erected over it in 1914 by Raj family.
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Visiting this mazaar can stun any one. It bears a deserted look. The ornate ventilations in the railings are broken from many places. Thorny shrubs abound inside it. Steps leading to it have cracked. The beautiful arc over the door is withering. Usmani, the caretakerof this secluded place is ignorant of the importance of this structure.
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Very few Darbhangans know about this heritage. The discarded and degraded sight speaks volumes on the apathy in conservation efforts of monuments in Bihar.
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god vishnu in thana!

God Vishnu in Thana ! ------------------------------------------------- Sanjay Mishra ------------------- Darbhanga—18-04-11 ---------------------------- The statue row continues to plague the Jale region of Darbhanga district even after a week of the finding of a Vishnu idol. Now, people of Dhankaul village have decided to construct a temple on the spot where the idol was un-earthed. On the other hand, villagers of Pauni are not ready to relent to the demands of Dhankaul people. In the midst of it all, lord Vishnu has been kept in Jale Thana. Thana in charge Devanand Kunwar told the Telegraph-“I have informed the higher authorities….the statue seems to be fairly old and we are looking after it.” In fact, the uproar started on 11-04-11 itself when the laborers digging soil on the bank of a pond in Dhankaul found the statue. Without informing the villagers, it is said, the laborers fled away with the statue. The statue was kept in a room in Pauni and soon worship was started. The information spread like a wild fire. The villagers of Dhankaul rushed to Pauni to get the statue back. But of no avail. Ram Pukar Jha of Dhankaul said-“God appeared in our village on the eve of Ramnavmi….it is a sign of omen…it will bring prosperity to us….how can we forgo our claim?” On the other hand, people in Pauni are restless, as the statue has been seized by the police. Faith driven folks throng to Jale thana in large numbers to have a glimpse of the god. The number of visitors is increasing day by day. Sensing this, thana personnel have made an arrangement. During day hours, the statue is placed outside the Shiva temple which is inside the thana premise. After sunset, the statue is brought back to the ‘ Maal-Khana ’ of the thana. The statue is made up of black granite. Its glaze can surprise anyone. In the statue, god Vishnu, the main deity, is flanked by eleven other gods. It is over three feet high. A teacher standing besides thana said that the statue seemed to be of Pala period. The district authorities have approached ASI. But, no ASI team has turned up so far to study the importance of the statue. No one knows whether God Vishnu will be blessing Dhankaul or Pauni or be placed in a quiet corner of a nearby museum. Till then, God would be well remembering his Krishna avatar when he was born in a jail. ----------------