ONE OF THE OLDEST FORMS
OF ART IN INDIA
PRACTICED MAJORLY IN RAJASTHAN AND MADHYA PRADESH
ABOUT
Mandana
Mandana is one of the oldest forms of art in India, in the local language refers to ‘drawing’ in the context of ‘Chitra Mandana’ or ‘drawing a picture'. It is done in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on walls and floors. It was considered to ward off evil and welcome the blessings of gods into the home.
PROCESS
The process of Mandana art involves the walls or floors being plastered with clay/mud, along with a mixture of cow dung and water. The pictures are drawn onto the wall or floor using rudimentary tools such as a brush made of a date twig, and a clump of thread and cotton. Once the motifs are made, they are then filled with color.
The color scheme of these paintings is ‘geru’ or red, and are chosen specifically because they are easily available in the community’s natural surroundings. White paint or ‘khadiya’ is made of chalk, while red paint or geru is made of brick.
MORE ABOUT MANDANA
This practice had become customary then and turned into an art of expression and life celebration. Its aesthetic appeal and rustic textured charm on this earthy base bear architectural and scientific significance.
Making a base for this art is art itself. It is prepared with cow dung, mud, and other locally available ingredients.
With time, this art form is going extinct. The fast-paced life today has taken precedence over altruistic sentiments, there seems to be little time and space to practice this art.
ABOUT
The Artist
As an art seeker, especially when the artwork has elements from mother nature and a rustic appeal, it’s very likely for one to fall for such an art instantly.
Given that MANDANA is a slow art where the base needs to be created first, allowed to settle and dry for a few days before it gets ready as a base for artwork.
‘Preeti’ always enjoyed watching her grandmother and mother doing this process for days ever since she was a child. It was a yearly ritual done by them during festivals and celebrations. Her eyes would light up with excitement as she saw them do this for hours.
As life moved on, she got busy with her studies and then her corporate career, but deep within constantly missed this rustic art that had created a deep impression in her heart since childhood. Now with a fast-paced life and concrete structures replacing mud homes, she had a strong urge to save this art. So, Preeti decided to educate people about this art and bring about awareness via workshops. She went on to do an entire wall in the biggest public park of Rajasthan with motifs, writeup, and tutorials.
Preeti endeavors to preserve this fading art and help people learn, practice, and pass this on to future generations.
Preeti’s efforts at preserving Mandana art have caught the eyes of the people of Jaipur and she has featured in the states leading newspapers too.
Parallelly, she has developed contemporary artwork for modern homes using this art form.
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Sustainability
The entire framework of this initiative is around preserving and enhancing sustainable technique of Mandana’s hand-crafted art’s production and consumption. This is crucial as this age-old skill of creating traditional and scientific motifs on 100% natural and zero waste base for floor and wall which are eco-friendly is dying.
Here is a humble attempt to revive this art in its natural form.
Education
Mandana is a unique art form and is culture based that are handed down through generations.
It is a reflection of originality and simplicity of one’s life expression and the style of work reflects the culture from which it originates.
To educate the current and next generation about Mandana art, Preeti has painted on entire wall of the Central Park Jaipur – one of the biggest public parks in Rajasthan with traditional motifs and write-up around how this art can be created. She has also organised free workshops and has participated in talk shows.
Her dream is that every household starts decorating their homes with these motifs during festivities. It will bring back same old-world charm!
"Mandana Artwork is done at the cultural hub of the city - Jawahar Kala Kendra's 'Shilpgram". It is a model village setup and has both mud houses and pucca houses"
ABOUT
Mandana