Caste shadow on Madhubani art form
Later, they started decorating their homes. As they were more familiar with their folk heroes and deities like Raja Salhes and Deena Bhadri , these characters and scenes from their lives found a place in their works, instead of the Krishnameera, Ram-sita motifs of upper castes. Some even started drawing incidents from their day-to-day life or themes with roots in the animistic culture of bygone era as opposed to Hindu culture.
Another variant is Godna, tattoos which were earlier used to decorate the human body with sharp, pointed needles.
“We call it Godna painting, which is now created on hand made paper. Even the government has recognised it as a distinct style of painting. There are state and national level awards for excellence in this art,” said Urmila Devi Paswan , a proponent of this art-form, who received the Kalidas Samman instituted by Madhya Pradesh government.
“Now even my niece has started painting. Recently we finished drawing the adventures of our deity, Raja Salhes on the walls of my verandah,” she said.
Some of these variants originated by happenstance. According to Rajkumar, a young painter who uses only one name, poorer women used to draw designs over the walls and on the ground with cow dung initially, as they could not afford colours, which gave rise to Gobar (cow dung) paintings.
Over time, some of these variants practices by the under-privileged and the oppressed acquired a rebellious streak, as evident in the work of Jamuna Devi, a painter from a lowly Chamar family.
One Harijan painting which won her a national award displays Chamar Tola people taking a carcass of cow out of the village. “Jamuna Devi explained, that initially her community was considered a forward caste but poor. Once a cow died in their Tola and as none had money to hire a professional to discard the carcass, her community people took off the Janeu (ceremonious thread used by forward castes; and disposed the carcass themselves). Since then, they have been categorised as scheduled caste,” Kamal Narayan, an artist, said. “The painting on the theme was a protest against the de-sanskritisation of the community”, he added.
Some experts rue the commercialisation of the art form that, in their opinion, has resulted in the offshoots. “There never was this notion of Harijan painting 10 years ago. It’s a marketing gimmick. Art brokers and dealers knew a rebel art tag would help sell cheaply bought art work abroad,” said Bishwambhar Jha, a senior painter and social activist.
Sharad, a papier machie artist who uses only one name agrees: “The divide in art and society here is totally the handiwork of the Bichauliyas (brokers). Unfortunately (some) artists have now become quite aware of the benefits of this tag and are also trying to cash it. Talk to any of them and you will find them demanding awards and benefits on the basis of caste,” he said.
Indeed, even those who admire the paintings as a form of protest admit that commercial interests have played a part.
According to Dr Snigdha Prosad, a well known Patna based sociologist and professor: “This is a rare genre of protest through art by subaltern classes. However, it is a trend of the times, where ‘outsiders’ create a divide and stoke differentiation to meet a commercial purpose, which ends up dividing the cohesiveness of the society. ” For the painters themselves, though, it’s all about identity.
Binda Devi, a Madhubani artist and daughter-in-law of Jamuna Devi, proudly introduces herself as a ‘Harijan painter’ now. “Our art is misunderstood and looked down upon because we are low caste. Had we been from an upper caste, our members too would have won a Padmashri, or a national award. The reality shows up here, as to how the better off sections and the government treat us,” she said.