How Bihar’s artists rode out the Covid crisis with tech & tradition

The Mithila region comprises the towns of Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi and adjoining areas in Bihar. Its painting style, called Mithila or Madhubani art, is distinctive, with fine lines and bright colours, historically depicting motifs like the sun, fish, and scenes from the lives of Lord Rama and Krishna, although over the years, many diverse themes have been incorporated. Practised traditionally by women, it was used to decorate the walls of houses, but now can be found on everything from saris and lampshades to handbags and, in the post-Covid world, masks.

It is this merging of their traditional skills with modern needs that helped many women in Mithila ride out the lockdowns, which cut off two major sources of their income – government-organised melas (fairs) where they sold their wares, and public events, where they decorated the venue.

Pooja Jha, a college student, is a Madhubani painter from the village of Ujan. When the lockdown first hit, demand for apparel and décor items went down, she says. “The only thing selling well was masks. In my village, a shopkeeper started making and selling them for Rs 50, and people flocked to him. This inspired other artists to paint masks too. A self-help group would go house to house, collecting masks made by women to sell. But I knew the way to reach more customers was through technology. So I created a Facebook page, Mithila Chitrakala, where I would upload pictures of hand-painted masks. Soon, orders started streaming in,” says Jha.

Jha would buy plain masks from a tailor, paint them, and dispatch them through the village post office. “At a time when sending or receiving most goods was prohibited, masks were allowed. I got so many orders that I involved other women from the village too, and we all managed to earn a decent income,” she says.

In a region where not every artist is well-versed with technology, like Jha, many women joined hands to help each other out.

Anju Mishra, based in Darbhanga, has been a Mithila painter for over 20 years, even winning the State Award from the Bihar government in 2021. Along with her husband, she runs Mithila Folk Sanstha, where the art is taught. She says when the pandemic hit, she was worried about her students, most of whom are college students or housewives.

“Before the lockdown, our work would be sent to state fairs, or customers would come home. When Covid hit, I was among the artists whose phone number was displayed by the district magistrate’s office, for people to contact for Mithila masks. As orders started coming, I wanted to help my students. So I moved the classes online. Over the phone, and through video calls when possible, I would instruct them,” says Anju.

Anju says she would provide the cloth or plain masks to her students. “For face masks, we used pure cotton cloth and followed the sizes laid down by the government. The students would return the painted masks, after which we took care of online payments, shipping, etc. I am happy that our masks are still being sold in Patna malls. But more than that, I am happy that we helped people stay safe, and my students managed to earn. In many households, the money made from the masks was the only income during the lockdown,” she adds.

Like Anju, Sudha Mishra, another Mithila artist in Darbhanga, moved to digital hand-holding when she realised masks could help beat the sale slump for everyone.

Sudha Mishra at work.

“A lot of our income comes from political or university events, which the lockdown put an end to. One day, I just happened to make some masks for my family and a few friends. However, everyone who saw the masks – neighbours, doodhwala, sabziwala (milkman, greengrocer) – wanted one. It was then I realised selling masks could be profitable,” says Sudha, who has been engaged in Mithila painting for the past 10 years.

“Apart from running a store called Pihu Arts and Crafts, I also train people. Among my students, men are generally employed for outdoor assignments, while women do most of the apparel work. Once I decided we would sell masks, I formed WhatsApp groups of artists I knew and started sharing order details. To help them, I would make my own videos and put on the group. YouTube links also helped,” says Sudha.

For the masks, they stuck to two rules – materials would be cotton and poplin, and motifs would not include gods and goddesses. Sales would be through Facebook and WhatsApp.

“Madhubani paintings are generally done on larger surface areas, such as saris and dupattas. Something as small as a mask presents a challenge. But we managed to ace not just that challenge, but also the challenge of earning for our families during Covid,” Sudha says.