HANUMAN AND SITA in LANKA Painting

           Madhubani paintings mostly depict nature and Hindureligious motifs, andthe themes generally revolve around Hindu deities like Krsihna, Ram,shiva, Durga, Lakhsmi and Saraswati . Naturalobjects like the sun, themoon, and religious plants like tulsi are also widelypainted, alongwith scenes from the royal court and social events likeweddings.Generally no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintingsofflowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs. Objects depictedin thewalls of kohabar ghar (where newly wed couple see each other inthe firstnight) are symbols of sexual pleasure and procreation.

            As Madhubani painting hasremained confined to acompact geographical area and the skills havebeen passed on through centuries,the content and the style have largelyremained the same. Madhubani paintingsalso use two dimensional imagery,and the colors used are derived from plants.Ochre and Lamp black  arealso used for reddish brown and blackrespectively.

           Madhubani painting has been done traditionally bythe women of villagesaround the present town of  Madhubani (the literalmeaning of which is forests of honey)and other areas of Mithila. The painting was traditionally done onfreshly plastered mud wall ofhuts, but now it is also done on cloth,hand-made paper and canvas.

The origins of Madhubani painting or Mithila Painting are shroudedinantiquity. Tradition states that this style of painting originated atthe timeof the   Ramayana, when King Janak commissioned artists todo paintingsat the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita, to Lord Ram.

Hanuman ran through Lanka, looking for Sita. He found her held captive in an ashok grove near Ravana's palace.