Home is where the art is

The Madhubani painting technique is one of the most intricate and well-preserved heritage art of India, and many artists have dabbled with their brushes and paint in the past to use this form of storytelling through various medium. For Bihar-based artist Santosh Kumar Das, who presented his first solo show ‘Rerouted Realities’ in India at the Ojas Art in Delhi, there couldn’t have been any better inspiration than the vibrant tales of Hindu mythology in Madhubani from his home state.

The Mithila artist’s month-long show is curated by Kathryn Myers and has about 40 artworks on display at the gallery. The highlight of this show is a set of two scrolls from 1999 depicting the mythological tale of Hans and Bachcharaj. The set took more than a year to execute, reveals the artist, as he adds, “The exhibit is very special for me because I worked with Anubhav Nath, curatorial director at the Ojas Art Gallery, on this solo show since 2016 when I was felicitated with the Ojas Art Award. This is a retrospective and a sort of nostalgic journey of the 23 years of my artistic expression. The artworks presented have been developed over two decades and it is truly a surreal experience. My artworks merge tradition with contemporary while drawing inspiration from Hindu mythology and the humdrum affairs of life. My first large scale painting was in 2000. It took me two scrolls to cover the entire story depicting the mythological tale of Hans and Bachcharaj.  It was a wonderful experience. I was challenged by the dimensions and did everything firsthand without drafts. But later when I did the Gujarat stories, it required a lot of research. So the style is Mithila-Madhubani but the process for every artwork is unique.”

The artist grew up around women who practiced the beautiful art of Madhubani painting so art for him has always been a form of expression, and fusing mythology with modern storytelling is one of his signature styles. Speaking about his artistic influences, he says, “When I began my journey as an artist, I practiced realism. I drew images of Bollywood stars, politicians, and also drew inspiration from my childhood and this is where I found my love for Madhubani paintings. I had seen women in my family especially my mother who drew beautiful Madhubani paintings and I was attracted by their simplicity, primary fonts and colours. This is when I decided to dedicate my art practice to Madhubani and did that for a decade. After that, I attended the art college in Baroda for five years. Over these years and after my journey as an artist all over India and abroad, I realised that my true inspiration, strength, and intrigue came from my home town. Therefore I moved to Ranchi to further my understanding of Madhubani and its interpretation for me as an artist. I have been practicing Madhubani ever since then. For me, there is always a paradox in the storytelling and the artworks. The narratives vary from mythological stories to everyday life. My style of painting is traditional, I do use folk medium but the stories are not just folk tales. So that is the paradox that exists in my shows -- contemporary yet traditional.”

Like most artists, the novelty and treatment of a subject in an artwork inspires Das, who also spends time teaching the next generation of creators about the fine nuances of Madhubani art. He says, “I am open like a modern artist. I use folk medium but the approach is modern. I draw inspiration from different mediums be it literature, movies, everyday events or folk takes. I feel it is very important to use symbolic and metaphorical representations in artwork because, in the traditional style of painting, not everything is explicit. When artists work on artworks, they do refer to motifs and metaphors such as two parrots in a painting depicting love. So it is important to communicate emotions, metaphors, motifs, and symbols. Apart from art, teaching is something I have thoroughly loved. I used to teach and conduct workshops at the local art institute and help young artists release their potential. There is nothing more important than shaping the next generation to tell their stories their way and yet keep the traditional skills alive.”