ARTICLE
Mandana
Within the Meena community, mandana are also used to adorn important spaces or add a decorative flourish in the interiors of homes. The granary — locally known as the kotha or kothi — is an important space in a Meena home and is decorated with geometric and floral mandana patterns. The hearth – also known as the chulha – is another space that is often decorated with mandana. A mandana made in relief and carved into the clay surface may further be embellished with mirrors, beads and coloured glass.
While floor mandana have designs specific to an occasion, wall mandana use a wider array of motifs, inspired by wildlife or the social life of the community, as seen in motifs such as gujar-gujari (man and woman), bullock and camel carts. Unlike the mandana in Rajasthan, which is primarily made in white and red, more colours have been introduced in the designs made in Madhya Pradesh.
Like other mural painting traditions that originated on mud surfaces, the mandana technique also faces a challenge with a decline in the number of mud houses. Local artists, however, have adapted their designs and motifs to paper and, in some cases, have also experimented with depicting modern themes using traditional techniques.
Bibliography
Huyler, Stephen P. Painted Prayers: Women’s Art in Village India. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1994
Kramrisch, Stella. “The Ritual Arts of India.” Aditi: The Living Arts of India. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
MP Tourism. “Mandana Art.” Accessed October 7, 2021. https://www.mptourism.com/mandana-art.html
Rahman, Azera Parveen. “Mud houses are vanishing; Mandana art adorning its walls will too, if not preserved.” Gaon Connection, July 18, 2020. https://en.gaonconnection.com/mud-houses-are-vanishing-mandana-art-that-adorned-its-walls-and-floors-will-too-if-not-preserved/
Tadvalkar, Nayana. “Mandana Art of Rajasthan: A feminine Preserve.” Indian Numismatic, Historical and Cultural Research Foundation, June 10, 2020. http://www.inhcrf.org/blogs/mandana-art-of-rajasthan-a-feminine-preserve/
Wolf, Gita and Madan Meena. Nurturing Walls: Animal Art by Meena Women. Chennai: Tara Books, 2008.