-Text by Lakhichand Jain
Mandana- is a one of the Indian style of folk painting that is reflecting a sign of our traditional artistic ability and inspired belief. It is a unique form of painting that graces homes on festive and auspicious days as well as the beginning of winter, planting season, at harvest time and before summer. Traditionally it is depicting as a sign of prayer, beauty and joy as well as erases the negative energy from homes. This art form takes shapes on the walls of mud houses, floor and in the courtyards. Till date, the tradition of mandana is passed down from one generation to another generation, in Rajasthani-Marwari (Jain) families and Meena tribes’ who lives in Eastern parts of Rajasthan. Due to the rapid urbanization, mandana is struggling and facing the phase of transition. As village culture vanishes, mandana will fade out from our lives.
History and characteristic of mandana
It is not possible to find the history and roots of mandana, but I see its relations in prehistoric cave paintings. Also it links the roots of mandana to the ancient period like- Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa era, Aryan’s Vedic tradition and great treasure of Veda-Puranas, folk tales and folk songs. According to my studies, after arrival of the Aryans, our way of life has taken a new turns. Since that time, the mandana was indirectly emerged in our lives, and spontaneously expressing them on the interior-exterior of earthen houses in sacred manner. These paintings are an intrinsic part of the mud-house architecture and not separate. Traditional mandana are characteristically different from other folk styles like kohbar, jhoti or chita, pithoora and warli. It doesn’t have a storyline. So, all the motifs playing and flowing freely on the surface of mud wall and floors through simply white colour. These simple visual folk art forms are closely related to the science of vaastu, beauty, holy charms and spiritualism. Mandana has various forms...various images...various styles. Mandana has its own language which has to be comprehended to gauge the depth of its various aspects.
Types, contents and elements
Mandana can be divided into two types depending on their contents- vallari pradhan & aakruti pradhan. The vallari mandanas consists of flowers, plants & nature living objects like- birds, and animals are painted only on kachcha mud walls. While the aakruti mandanas are depicts, geometric and symbolic forms expressing the five elements of panch mahabhuta (universal prakruti- nature) - like triangle (agni-fire); square (prithvi-earth); circle (jal-water); dot (aakash-ether); and crescent curve (vayu-air) and non-living objects like pan ka dibba, pankhi (handmade fan), khadtal (musical instrument), khanda (sword), ghevar-finya-laddu-jilebi (Rajasthani sweets), keri (unripe mango), taraju (weight machine) etc. are painted on kachcha floor. Aakriti mandana is composed with the different units which harmoniously blend into a distinct pattern.
Process of making
Traditionally mandana is painted by simply white khadiya (paste of lime stone/ chalk) with assist of unique brush made by khejur (date-palm), thin bamboo stick with cotton stuck covered on one end or anamika (ring finger) over an earthen terracotta red or yellow-ochre mud surface. geru (terracotta red earthen stone colour), pili mitti (yellow ochre soil), hirmich (crimson red colour powder) and khadiya these natural ingredients are used as a colour in mandana.
It is not possible to find the history and roots of mandana, but I see its relations in prehistoric cave paintings. Also it links the roots of mandana to the ancient period like- Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa era, Aryan’s Vedic tradition and great treasure of Veda-Puranas, folk tales and folk songs. According to my studies, after arrival of the Aryans, our way of life has taken a new turns. Since that time, the mandana was indirectly emerged in our lives, and spontaneously expressing them on the interior-exterior of earthen houses in sacred manner. These paintings are an intrinsic part of the mud-house architecture and not separate. Traditional mandana are characteristically different from other folk styles like kohbar, jhoti or chita, pithoora and warli. It doesn’t have a storyline. So, all the motifs playing and flowing freely on the surface of mud wall and floors through simply white colour. These simple visual folk art forms are closely related to the science of vaastu, beauty, holy charms and spiritualism. Mandana has various forms...various images...various styles. Mandana has its own language which has to be comprehended to gauge the depth of its various aspects.
Types, contents and elements
Mandana can be divided into two types depending on their contents- vallari pradhan & aakruti pradhan. The vallari mandanas consists of flowers, plants & nature living objects like- birds, and animals are painted only on kachcha mud walls. While the aakruti mandanas are depicts, geometric and symbolic forms expressing the five elements of panch mahabhuta (universal prakruti- nature) - like triangle (agni-fire); square (prithvi-earth); circle (jal-water); dot (aakash-ether); and crescent curve (vayu-air) and non-living objects like pan ka dibba, pankhi (handmade fan), khadtal (musical instrument), khanda (sword), ghevar-finya-laddu-jilebi (Rajasthani sweets), keri (unripe mango), taraju (weight machine) etc. are painted on kachcha floor. Aakriti mandana is composed with the different units which harmoniously blend into a distinct pattern.
Process of making
Traditionally mandana is painted by simply white khadiya (paste of lime stone/ chalk) with assist of unique brush made by khejur (date-palm), thin bamboo stick with cotton stuck covered on one end or anamika (ring finger) over an earthen terracotta red or yellow-ochre mud surface. geru (terracotta red earthen stone colour), pili mitti (yellow ochre soil), hirmich (crimson red colour powder) and khadiya these natural ingredients are used as a colour in mandana.
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