The sarees of Madhubani
The home of Madhubani painting, whose line-drawn gods, fish and birds are now also painted on silk and cotton sarees.
Motifs of Madhubani
Woven here
Best time: October to March, and around festivals such as Chhath and Holi.
GI: Madhubani painting is registered as a Geographical Indication.
Madhubani is a district in the Mithila region of Bihar, famous for a style of painting in which every surface is filled with figures, flowers and borders. Women painted the walls of their homes for weddings and festivals. Today the same style is painted on paper, and on sarees and dupattas.
What is made here
Madhubani painting uses bold outlines, flat colour and busy borders, with figures of gods, fish, birds, the sun and moon, and wedding scenes. Natural colours were once used, and today many painters use fabric dyes. On sarees the painting is done by hand on silk or cotton, usually along the border and pallu, and sometimes across the body. A hand-painted saree takes days and cannot be exactly repeated.
The craft and its people
The tradition belonged to women of the region, who painted in homes for family occasions, and it passed from mother to daughter. Villages such as Jitwarpur and Ranti are known for painters. Now both women and men paint, and many painters earn from selling paintings and cloth to craft organisations. Madhubani painting is protected as a Geographical Indication.
Seeing it
Jitwarpur and Ranti villages are the best known places to meet painters, and some homes have painted walls. Craft cooperatives in the district sell paintings and painted cloth. Ask a painter to show how the outline is done first and the colour added afterwards. Check that a painted saree is hand drawn and not printed to look painted.
A trail idea for Madhubani
- Jitwarpur village Visit the village associated with Mithila painters, and see walls and paper works made by local artists.
- Ranti village Walk to a neighbouring painters' village and see how outlines and colour fills are done.
- A craft cooperative in Madhubani town Compare paintings and painted sarees in the district's town, and ask how a design is planned.
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Madhubani" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and workshops change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.