Manjusha, a forgotten art.

manjusha kala

India is home to one of the world's oldest and most diverse cultures. Language, religion, arts and crafts are just some of the various aspects of it. To write about Indian folk arts is almost like writing about the country itself; so vast, complex, and vibrant. One cannot help but admire the level of diversity present in our country. But as per the recent trends, most of our age old arts may be lost forever in coming fifteen to twenty years, because of decreasing popularity and unemployment.The aim is to preserve them, so that the future generations can know the India that we know, today. With increasing access to social media, it has now become extremely easy to spread awareness amongst thousands of people at a time. Social media is our source of information these days and because of that, I have come across various awareness campaigns going on to save the Indian arts and culture. But the sad truth is that most of the arts that need our attention do not make it to social media, and thus go unnoticed. As a small initiative, I decided to acknowledge and write about one such art, Manjusha.


What is Manjusha?
Manjusha is the only folk art in India that depicts the sequential representation of a story in the form of a painting. How interesting is that? Originated in Bhagalpur district of Bihar, it was mainly painted during the snake festival. The walls of the houses were painted with beautiful patterns to celebrate the festival. Each painting tells a different part of the story of Bihula Bishari, a tale of a woman who saved her husband from the deity's wrath. It uses only three colours; red, green and yellow. The colours were prepared naturally, but are now replaced by the synthetic ones. The figures are made in the form of X and the main characters are projected with big eyes and ears with bold lines and curves.It is considered on a par with Madhubani art, but is overshadowed by it.

Manjusha art portrays the cultural and religious heritage of Bihar. Due to decreasing popularity, artisans have stopped putting efforts into the art, which may lead to loss of such an ancient wonder, one day. The government of Bihar has taken initiatives to save it by employing people and setting up art schools in Bhagalpur and nearby villages. But more efforts are needed by the people, people like you and me. So what are you waiting for? Read, create awareness and do your bit to save one art at a time.