LifeStyle: Storage/Organization

Coming to the second chapter of lifestyle of Mithila Culture, I have put up two pictures. In the picture that is on the right, a mud built rack can been seen. These racks are made by mixing together soil, water, finely cut straw and small percentage of cow dung. They are mixed well and left for couple days so that there is elasticity in the mixed mud. Then the structure is started from the base and up. Meaning, first the base is built, left for couple days (or more depending on the weather) to semi-dry and then more pile of mud is added, adding to the height of the rack. Different shapes are made depending upon the desire and creativity of the Mithila women making them. After the rack is fully dry, it becomes ready for putting things in/on it. The topmost layer is used to keep bigger size objects, for example, the pots in the picture, while the middle/bottom layers are used to store light small objects such as yarn, oil bottle, make up kits, etc.

Similarly, the picture on the left is also made for keeping things in the house organized. This one in particular which is made around a pillar is at an higher reach and hence it is used for things that should be kept away from children, for instance, money, medications, sweets, yogurt, etc. The structure behind the pillar is called Kothi in Maithili language, which is simply a mod build round (sometimes rectangular) box used for storing grains such as lentils, paddy, rice, wheat, etc. All these things are made mostly by women. Men usually do not get involved in any activities that requires dealing with household works. They only work outside of the house.

LifeStyle: Cooking

As we are learning more about culture of Mithila paintings, I feel obliged to familiarize you with other cultural aspects of these Mithila families. One of the utmost important part of our lives if food and hence I thought I would bring about the cooking style in this culture.

As seen in the picture, the cooking stoves are usually made from mus that lasts longer and grown stronger with every use. Mithila women, soak a special kind of soil in water for few days before they mix the soil and water well. Then they use this mud to create cooking stoves and paint them with whitish soil again for better outlook.

The stoves have a small mouth through which firewood and other kinds of sources of fire such as those made from cow dung are fed and then lit. The cooking pot is put on top of the mud stove and then the fire is lit, which does the cooking. This traditional kind of cooking method takes longer than the regular electric stoves elsewhere. Also, the firewood produces a lot of smoke. However, once the food is cooked, only ashes are left behind, which is used for cleaning the cooking utensils after meals and/or in the fields for compost.

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.

Artist Profile: Rukmini Devi

Her name is Rukmini Devi and she is a mother of five daughters. Her eldest daughter is seventeen and the youngest is ten. Her husband left her after the birth of her fifth daughter and there has been no news about him. Her eldest daughter got married two years ago after she passed her SLC, which is equivalent to tenth grade.

As for Rukmini, she relies on her brother in law for every need from food to clothing, no wonder healthcare is a luxury for her. She saved the extra money that she earned from the training process last summer of 2009 for updating her glasses, as she had not had her eye check up for five years.

With the hope that her husband will come back to her someday, she lives her life with optimism. She is one of the most regular attendees at the Jurshital Institute. She loves disappearing into her world of Mithila paintings except at times when she gets a headache due to her eye problems.

The paints bought directly from the market are too thick too be used for the painting. Hence, she is thinning it by mixing the original paint with emulsion, a white colored paint, and water. Recycled tin boxes are used to do the mixing and they are covered after the day's work. The next day, more water is added to the paints as they quicky dry up in hot weather of Halkhori.

Two women in this image are cutting the Lokta paper into appropriate size for the Jurshital Institute, where all the women at the Institute will use this paper for Mithila paintings.