Ceremonial FOLK ART OF MITHILA

From wedding ritual wall art, Kohbar finds place in contemporary art, says Kavita Kanan Chandra

- Kavita Kanan Chandra

The Lalit Kala Academy in Patna was vibrant with the colours of Kohbar paintings, the ceremonial wedding paintings, celebrating the Maithili roots.

The show held from November 15 to November 17, 2025 offers a glimpse into Mithila's traditions. Mithila is the northeast region of Bihar and its inhabitants, Maithils, have retained the ties of traditional rituals and culture that make it distinct in its language, art, culture and cuisines.

Aptly titled; Kohbar - Route to Roots, the organising team of Mithila artists duo Alka Das and Nibha Labh, along with INTACH Patna chapter's Bhairab Lal Das put up a spectacular first-ever Kohbar exhibition of 52 artists, most of them displaying Kohbar as an art in an exhibition for the first time. For them Kohbar is a traditional art, they have seen from childhood, passed from one generation of women to another.

"Kohbar painting is a ritual painting done during the wedding in Mithila, on the eastern wall of the nuptial room, locally called Kohbar Ghar. All the puja (worship) happens before the Kohbar. It is one of the most symbolic paintings, where man, nature and culture are represented symbolically," says Manisha Jha, a Delhi-based National awardee Mithila artist and architect, founder of Madhubani Art Centre.

In the contemporary world, people talk about saving the environment. But, the women of Mithila have been worshipping nature from ancient times and depicting the co-existence of humans and nature in Mithila paintings, which include the Kohbar.