the artist’s impression of india & me
The artwork on our website was specially created by Malvika Raj, a Madhubani artist whose work challenges the deeply entrenched casteism in many forms of this school of art. After being told that she could not practise the Tantric Madhubani artform simply because she was born into the Dalit community, Malvika has not only learnt and become an accomplished internationally renowned Madhubani artist. Her ground-breaking paintings draw on Babasaheb Ambedkar’s idea of India, breaking the artform free of its narrow confines of depicting only particular mythological narratives that privilege the savarna knowledge system as supreme.
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Read about Malvika's journey to becoming an artist in her own words.
After hearing us talk about india & me, Malvika used her fine artistic skills to help us visualise our participatory discovery of India: a journey of unlearning the taken-for-granted about India; of appreciating the nuances of its fault-lines; and of searching for answers and ‘solutions’ in the vast but often overlooked ocean of Adivasi, Vimukt, Dalit and Bahujan knowledges that continue to thrive and grow despite continued attempts to erase them. We are grateful to Malvika for sharing her own journey of listening to our ideas and using her pencil and paintbrush to bring alive our vision, a few strokes at a time.
“The image is anchored by the half-face and the tree emerging from within, both of which make up the essence of ‘me’ of india & me: a confluence of humanity and nature that is necessary for both to thrive. As I drew the face, I felt that ‘me’ was myself, as well as all the people in the group and other like-minded people around me and around us all, all of us who want that world which the india & me journey is heading towards. The dynamic expression on the face, somewhat happy, somewhat pensive, somewhat knowing and somewhat questioning, displays what this journey entails for all of us willing to enter this space. I used black and white stippling to show how the journey involves much learning and un-learning, much knowing and un-knowing, much realisation and also much un-realisation. ...
As we continue down this tumultuous, non-linear journey, the ‘me’ becomes more expansive and the fuzziness of the stippling gives way to clear lines and bright colours. Indeed the whole image then becomes ‘me’ and india & me simultaneously, encompassing both our past and our present with the possibility of a more inclusive future.” (Malvika Raj in conversation with the india & me working group).
But it is up to us to see the unseen in each detailed part of the image: all of which depict scenes of the everyday, as experienced by those gone before us and those around us and ourselves today. What’s key here is that what makes India a rich and beautiful region of the world is its ordinary people’s past and present. We all need to participate in turning that most precious wheel of time, and not entrust this task to a powerful few, as it meanders through paths not determined by borders.
The artist's journey through her words
As far as I remember my early childhood days, I was never good with my studies. All the pencil letters, words and digits emerged out from the pages and dangled like hornet in front of me whenever I concentrated hard on them. Thankfully, I was really good in Dance, Music, Paintings and Craftwork. If you’ll ask about my first love, I’ll say it is dancing; I learned Bharat Natyam for five years and gave several performances, but due to some medical reasons, doctors asked me not to dance any further thus life took a different turn hence after. When I didn’t dance, I rested and painted. I remember myself being good painter since my early school days at Saint Anthony, Dhanbad. I along with few mediocre fellow mates, suffered intense humiliation by teachers of vivid subjects but during those days, I got love and support from my Art teacher. I completed primary and secondary education in Bihar “State Boards, Hindi medium”. Fortunately, I appeared in Northern Indian Institute of Fashion Technology (NIIFT),Mohali, Chandigarh exam and qualified and further got degree in “Fashion Designing”. College days were the best days! Stepping out from a small town Patna and truly enjoying friends and academics, I sensed I am heading through the righteous path. I sincerely thank my lovely faculty members for their enormous support and focused guidance which enhanced my creativity skills and specially understanding of colours and its composition. Also got awarded with “Best Creative Award, 2007, NIIFT” in my final year. Further, I had a campus selection and took a job opportunity in a reputed Designing Firm and worked for three consecutive years where I sailed well in the designing field and also did paintings in leisure hours, but again due to a serious health issue, I had to quit my job and come back to my home town, Patna.
At home, while resting and having nothing to do, I begun to paint, again. Back in college days, while studying designing, I loved Illustration discipline; in fact I did a part-time job in Patna too, in a Design College where I taught Fashion Illustration.
The Madhubani Painting and its form, in which I am specialized presently, came to me naturally. I love, admire and practiced this form since teen age as the art form itself originates from Bihar. I travelled to the Madhubani district (Bihar), rich in Madhubani Art and stayed several days and conducted research works. While researching in one of the Madhubani village Jitwarpur, with rural women and teenage artists, I developed a deep connection with them while painting together but somehow I wasn’t able to connect myself with my paintings because almost all the paintings consisted of Hindu Mythological figures so I sensed something missing inside me as well as in my paintings. Since childhood, father used to take us, me and my siblings to Bodh Gaya and several other Buddhist places and shrines on a regular basis. I am a Buddhist. I think, that’s the real reason why I started painting Buddha in Madhubani, also it’s still rare to find work of Buddha as a spiritual leader, in Madhubani art form. “The Journey” is a collection of my paintings dedicated to Buddha, his life and teachings and his perceptions. Being a feminist, Dalit and an Ambedkarite, I love to make paintings inspired from Madhubani art form, in which motifs used, are solely driven by nature and the existing love patterns existing among them such as plants, trees, flowers, animals, fishes, birds and even human being, whereas the story-line revolves mostly around the social narratives and real characters which is slightly different from the Madhubani/Mithila Paintings, where Hindu mythological figures plays a major role.