Women in Janakpur are gaining financial independence through indigenous Mithila art
BHRIKUTI RAI
Shiribati Mandal of Janakpur Women's Development Centre works on a screen print design.
Fourty-seven-year old Shiribati
Mandal from Janakpur in
Dhanusa district has never
seen the inside of a school, but
always had a keen interest in art.
Whenever she found time from
household chores, she would
paint the earthen walls of her home
with stunning motifs. Wanting
to break out of the confines of
the four walls of her kitchen, in
1998 she joined Janakpur Women’s
Development Centre (JWDC), a
cooperative of local female artists
which has been promoting Mithila
art and providing jobs for women
in town and surrounding villages.
Shiribati is among 39 women
at JWDC who are earning a living,
while also preserving an ancient
art skill passed down through
generations. “I never imagined
I could earn money with my
paintings,” she admits. The
mother of two has graduated from
wall painting and is now an expert
screen print designer. She says
her family has no problem when
she leaves for her ‘office’ every
afternoon: “Time management is
the key and my husband is happy
that I am contributing to support
our family.”
Women at the cooperative paint Mithila designs on different products like clay pottery.
When JDWC was set up in
1989, women working outside
their homes was unheard of in
Janakpur. “People used to stare at
me when I cycled to work in the
80s, so you can imagine what they
must have thought of working
women,” says vice-chairman
Manjula Thakur, who joined
the centre in the early 90s. The
cooperative not only helps artisans
sharpen the craft they learnt from
their mothers and grandmothers,
but also gives them literacy classes
and business skills so they can
market their products. The women
even have their own savings and
microcredit program.
Mithila art dates back to 3,000
years to a region in what is now
north Bihar in India and southeast
Nepal. Inhabitants decorated walls
of their homes with scenes from
everyday life, rituals, festivals,
and Hindu gods and goddesses.
Its capital Janakpur was a seat of learning, a centre of spiritual and intellectual discourse, and the first city make contact with Oriental cultures.
Although JWDC mostly
produces traditional Mithila art
on canvas, it has also ventured
into ceramics, textiles, and
papier mâché. Its products have
been featured at national and
international fairs including the
famous Santa Fe International Folk
Art Market in New Mexico, USA.
Last year the cooperative made Rs
3.5 million in profits.
Says Thakur: “I am happy
that women in Janakpur can now
freely ride their bikes, earn their
living, and make decisions for
themselves.”
(0)41 521080
info_jwdc@yahoo.com
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Mithila Yatra