Madhubani painting is an ancient type of rural art. It’s popular in Bihar’s Mithila area and parts of Nepal. Fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and match sticks are used in Madhubani painting, also known as Mithila painting. Mithila folk motifs are used in the sketching and numerous consumer goods. Traditional geometric designs are the major motif.

Madhubani paintings are also famous for depicting ceremonial elements during special events such as festivals and religious rituals. Bihar Women employed this style of art to decorate their house walls and doors in order to seek God’s blessing for peace and prosperity. Because of their high aesthetic value and commitment to tradition, Bihar’s art forms are in love around the world. Pushpa Kumari is one of these artists.

Special Norms

Pushpa Kumari is a Madhubani Mithila artist of the younger generation who has maintained the particular styles and customs of Mithila paintings while addressing contemporary issues such as women’s rights in India. Her art continues to revolve around the subject of sexuality. Pushpa was taught to dance by her grandmother, the renowned Mita.

She has been learning the art of Madhubani paintings since she was 10 years old. Learning this art form at such a young age inspired when she decided to pursue Madhubani folk art. For people around her, Madhubani was simply a form that was down from one generation to another by women of the household.

Pushpa, a Madhubani resident from Ranti village, has developed a collection of feminine paintings based on folk tales about menstruation, puberty, sexuality, and fertility. She paints tsunamis, earthquakes, demonetization, the pandemic, and other recent catastrophes that have occurred in India. Some of her paintings are a form of societal criticism. For example, she drew potters and metal fabricators in one painting, and her grandmother used Madhubani to depict disappearing arts and vocations.

Despite the fact that she had inherited the art and with it the customs reflected in it, Pushpa Kumari thought like an artist and never limited herself to them. She went on to become a well-known Madhubani artist in Bihar, bringing the art form to the United States. Also, is one of 20 artists whose work is on exhibit at JCDecaux bus shelters in New York, Chicago, and Boston right now. She is the only person of Indian descent on the list.

Pushpa Kumari’s Contribution to Madhubani Art

She creates kachni and bharni, two Madhubani styles, by combining ink (kachni) and colors (bharni). The former is largely used to illustrate society and its problems, whilst the latter is primarily used to depict historical events, mythology, and folklore.

She gave it her own contemporary spin and modernized it to keep up with the times. If you search for Madhubani artists in Bihar, there are many traditional artists. But Madhubani artists like Pushpa gave it a contemporary vision.

It’s no surprise that her painting technique drew the attention of the Public Art Fund, a non-profit organization based in the United States. In the middle of the pandemic, an art exhibition titled ‘Global Positioning’ tries to encourage optimism and awareness. ‘Joy of Living,’ one of her paintings, depicted disguised people attempting to be positive. Two women are dancing in the lower right corner while holding hands. The umbrella with the injection as a handle depicts successful vaccination campaigns around the world.

This isn’t the first time her art was on a global scale. Her paintings, with their intricate designs and modern commentary subjects, have been featuring at the Queensland Art Gallery Modern Art and the National Museums Liverpool. Germany, France, and Australia are among the countries it has visited.

Pushpa who is now older and wiser has never shied away from expressing herself and putting her thoughts on canvas. Each painting represents a different environment as viewed through the eyes of multiple females who grew up in rural areas. She is one of the artists whose worldview is changing the world.