WORKSHOP

‘The culture of a country is gauged first by its progress in art’

ClASSES XI and XII

The school organized a Madhubani Painting workshop for the students of Classes XI and XII by the famous artisan Mr. Sushil Kumar at its campus to encourage the students to get infatuated with the hues of our ancient and traditional arts. The students were given information about the Madhubani painting or Mithila painting which is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithla region of Bihar state. India and the adjoining parts  of Terai in Nepal. The painting is done with fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens and match sticks, using natural dyes and pigments and is typically based on mythology, folk themes and pastoral symbols or characterized by eye catching patterns. Talking about the art, the artisan said that it typically takes him four days to finish a small piece of art as it involves intricate designs. He also shared that the artists still make their own colors by extracting them from plants, flowers and other natural products which too involves time and effort. He informed the students of the two styles of colouring-Kachni (hatching) and Bharni (shading). A variety of inventive patterns is made with hatching and shading, added the exponent. He gave a live demonstration and shared with them his own creative art pieces. He informed the students that though this folk has been practised for centuries it has started gaining recognition only in the last few decades. Now, art patrons can find Madhubani artists in several cities of northern India, many of whom are experimenting and adapting the traditional styles to modern ethos and medium. He involved all the teachers and students in a Madhubani painting activity and encouraged the young artists to be rooted in their culture and revive this oldest Indian art form. The aim of the activity was to enable the students to learn to respect, appreciate and understand traditional art forms and take pride in India’s secular fabric and cultural diversity that would make them liberal and creative thinkers.