National 7 (Spotlight Weekly)

Mithila Montage

Nepalese and Indian artists capture the colorful opulence of an ancient region

By A CORRESSPONDENT

Everyone likes to travel, but few have the talent for vividly expressing their observations. When the travellers happen to be artists, creativity knows no bounds. Six prominent Nepalese artists along with three counterparts from India captured in gripping splendor what they saw during a recent visit to Janakpur.

Mithila art : Rich culture

"Made in Janakpur: A Mithila Yatra 2002", organized by Siddhartha Art Gallery, has come as a new experiment in Nepalese art. Prominent Nepalese artists Uttam Nepali, Batsa Gopal Vaidya, Shashikala Tiwari, Ragini Upadhyaya-Grela and Shankar Raj Singh Suwal, along with senior Indian artists Amitabh Sen Gupta, Aditya Basak and Prakash Karmakar, are displaying their works in Kathmandu.

The art of Mithila has its own distinctive features, burnished by the diversity and richness of theme the region offers. The colorful paintings of Mithila have long influenced the elite of Kathmandu valley. Be it in the Malla period or later, the palaces of the valley used to invite artists from Mithila in a quest to bring out enduring works from the region's storehouse of creativity.

Sponsored by Janakpur Municipality, B.P. Koirala Foundation, Nepal Tourism Board, Hotel de L'Annapurna, Infinity International, Nepal Heritage Society and Babar Mahal Revisited, the exhibition helps to introduce vibrant vignettes of Janakpur to foreigners and Nepalese alike.

Ignored for many years, Mithila's art has gradually been exposed to the outside world. Following the restoration of democracy in 1990, the region's aesthetic charm has received growing prominence in all parts of the world. Many local and international non-governmental organizations have organized programs to encourage the artists of Janakpur.

This is the first time senior artists have been invited to paint the traditional beauty of Mithila and they have captured it in full resplendence. From choice of color to techniques of drawing, the senior artists from Nepal and India have used a variety of devices to illustrate the feelings and perspectives of the people of Mithila.

People in Janakpur have long used paintings to celebrate and perform social and religious functions. Virtually every household in Mithila, which consists of more than half a dozen districts in the central terai region, is familiar with the traditional underpinnings of art.

"We are very proud to organize Mithila art exhibition at the gallery. I hope such types of activities will help to preserve and promote the traditional art," said Sangeeta Thapa, executive director of Siddhartha Art Gallery. "The joint efforts made by the senior Nepalese and Indian artists will help to highlight the Mithila art."

One of the attractions of the paintings on display is the elegant mix of tradition and culture. Through creative experiments with colors, the Nepalese and Indian artists have brought out the feelings of the people of Mithila and the ambience in which they exist.

Before the inauguration of the exhibition, Guradev Kamat performed a Maithali classical song, Jhijiya dance and fire dance of Janakpur. Selected works by artists of the Janakpur Women's Development Center are on display at another floor of the gallery.

Showcasing an abundant array of works from professional artists and traditional maestros, the exhibition offers visitors a unique chance to enjoy the masterful fusion of traditional strokes and patterns with modern expressions of the imagination.