A solo exhibition titled Story of Mithila Painting was inaugurated on Friday at the Sarwanam Theatre, in the Capital.  The exhibition has on display 22 Mithila paintings by the artist Poonam Kumari Das. Present at Das’s sixth solo show were veteran Mithila painter SD Suman, the founder of Sarwanam, Ashesh Malla, and artist/art critique Ramesh Khanal, among others. 

Mithila painting is a style of painting prevalent in the Mithila region of Nepal and India. These paintings were traditionally created on walls of houses by women during special occasions such as marriages and birth ceremonies. Forms in Mithila painting are almost always two dimensional and traditional subjects include gods and goddesses as well as scenes from everyday life.

All of Das’ paintings are done either on canvas or cloth. Most of them are based on the epic of Ramayana and also include paintings of various Hindu gods and goddesses as well as kings of the Mithila region. Speaking at the programme, chief guest SD Suman shared that he had been closely observing Das’ work and had found immense maturity in these latest paintings. Similarly, critic Ramesh Khanal praised the paintings for “the symmetry of their forms, harmony of colours and for the fusion of Madhubani and Janakpuri techniques of Mithila painting.”

Likewise, Ashesh Malla shared that the purpose of hosting art exhibitions at Sarwanam theatre was to promote every form of Nepali artwork among the thousands of theatre goers who visit Sarwanam.

The exhibition will run at the theatre for the next two months.