Ancient expressions

Apart from scenes from Hindu epics,Kumar also paints stills from wedding rituals carried out in Mithila,a district in Bihar where she grew up. “The ‘vidai’ ceremony is a part of every Hindu wedding,and the most touching ceremony too. Apart from the Ramayana and Mahabharata,weddings are a great source of inspiration for my paintings. Every place has their own rituals to be followed and there are so many expressions and emotions involved in a wedding,” says Kumar,who is hosting her debut exhibition of 23 Madhubhani paintings at Bliss Art Gallery till November 7. The Vidai painting represents the customs followed at Mithila; the bride and groom are carried on a doli or a wooden carrier,by two kahars – people hired to carry the doli.

“I used to draw landscapes and figures but when I came across this Madhubani form of art,I wanted to try my hand at it. After finishing my schooling,I enrolled into the Kalakriti Institute in Mithila for six months of formal training in the art form. I learnt the basic and was then left to follow my heart with my art,” says Kumar,who is presently based in Pune.

Her paintings are done with acrylic and fabric colours and are divided into two techniques– kachni,which involves filling of figures by checks and lines,and bharni,where the painter fills the figures with solid paint. Though her paintings are mostly figurative,they are highly symbolic as well. “Parrots symbolise sex,which is a level of intimacy that is involved in a man-and-wife relationship. That is why when I paint wedding scenes,there is a parrot to symbolize the intimate bonding that the man and wife will share,” she describes.