In a remote village in Bihar, a group of women huddle around a city wall tracing what appears to be a painting on the blank canvas of mud. To a passerby watching, the art form holds a certain draw with its contrasting dark and bright pigments filled into the tribal motifs.

In a few hours, the painting will be complete — a riot of colour bringing alive a certain traditional folk tale. The beautiful masterpiece will be one among the numerous manifestations of the eponymous Mithila art or as it is more popularly known, Madhubani art.

Today, the art form has travelled from the city walls and mud houses of Bihar to canvases and objects that find a place in big cities, palaces, and even overseas.

The reason for the art form’s overnight popularity lies in its unique discovery.

In 1934, Nepal and parts of Northern Bihar were victims of a terrible earthquake of 8.0 magnitude. As the destructive tremors ripped the city apart and its residents scrambled to survive, the houses tumbled like decks of cards, leaving behind a cascade of ruins.

Assessing the damage was a British civil service officer, William Archer, who had been posted as the Magistrate in Madhubani just a year prior. The locals knew him as the officer who saw to law and order and often settled their petty disputes.

As Archer made his way into the city, attempting to make sense of the ruins left behind by the calamity, he spotted something in the mess, that caught his eye. This in decades to come would be known as the moment that caused Mithila art to reach the........

© The Better India