Original Mithila Wall Painting

Hi Everyone!

I know I have mentioned that Mithila paintings are originally done on the mud built walls of houses in Mithila region and never really gotten to show what the original wall paintings look like.

The picture on the left is one of the original wall paintings done by a female Mithila student. As you can see, the brick red color is made from red soil, green color from plant leaves, blue color is from the blue ink used in pens, and finally the black color used for the hair is from coal.

The picture is that of Goddess Saraswati, which in Hindu religion is the goddess of Knowledge and Skills such as music and arts. Although she is worshiped by all, students especially worship her for good outcomes in their academics. She is also the wife of Brahma, the God of Creation.

The name Saraswati also has significance in Buddhism. She is known as the guardian deity who upholds the teachings of Gautama Buddha by offering protection and assistance to practitioners.

Artist Profile: Mala Thakur

Mala Thakur lives in a joint family of eight. Seven years ago, she used to live in Mumbai, India, where her husband worked in a garment factory. But her husband got very ill while working in the factory and hence they had to return back to the village.

Despite her deep desire to become a mother, she does not have children of her own. She was pregnant twice: she had a miscarriage once and her child died right after birth for the second time. Infant mortality rate and miscarriages are very common among Nepali women due to lack of proper hygiene, nutrition and maternal care. Her elder sister who lived in Bihar state on India (on the border of Nepal and India) died to some severe disease after giving birth to her first child and Mala adopted her niece. She has been raising her sister's daughter like her own since then.

Mala was extremely excited to join the Jurshital Institute since she enjoys art and craft works. She has been enjoying her time at the Institute, as she says that she can emerge herself into creating beautiful paintings, while the rest of the world is ignored.

Jurshital: a new beginning

Honestly, the idea of starting a blog has crossed my mind several times but I pushed this idea since I identify with lives of most, if not all full time students with a double major (mine being Mathematics and Economics) that go to school every day and strive for the best. But today is a different day and now I have a reason, a new beginning to my life that is going to unfold this summer.

The title of my blog itself, “Jurshital”, a Maithili word, means New Year. I chose this word because my inspiration behind this blog is my project that I am going to do in Halkhori village in Nepal, where I come from. My society back home is dominated by Mithila culture in which we celebrate Jurshital, the New Year during the month of April. Interestingly enough, I was born in April, too! Jurshital is celebrated in Mithila culture by throwing mud at each other, family, friends, etc. Mud carries a special importance in our lives, the Maithili people as more than 90% of us depend on agriculture. As Rakesh writes, “We are born on mud, play on mud and die on mud,” we regard mud as a sacred part of our lives in Mithila culture. No wonder, we Mithila women spend so much time decorating our mud houses with yet other kinds of mud and produce from mud. We decorate our mud built houses by Mithila paintings, passed down from mothers to daughter. We paint the walls of our houses with lively depictions of family celebrations, religious ceremonies or even daily life moments and village scenes. We make the paint from red soil, charcoal, chalk, plant extracts that wash away in the rainy season. This gives us a new start the following year and we repaint the walls every year.

I am taking this Mithila painting to a professional level this summer by training the Mithila women into using the permanent paints, paint brushes so that the paintings are made permanent onto canvas and paper from the temporary ones on the walls. To get a more detailed idea on my project proposal, please refer to my next blog. And wish me a very best for the new beginning to my life. Happy Jurshital!