Folk Art · Rural India

Line, pattern, and pigment, carried from wall to paper.

Aurakalaoriginals supports women folk artists across rural India — from teenagers to women in their eighties — painting in traditions passed down through generations. This collection opens with hand-painted Madhubani (Mithila) work from Bihar, one of many regional styles we hope to bring forward.

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A row of four hand-painted Madhubani fish, red and orange scales on a deep green ground — Matsya — fish study, a Mithila motif for abundance Plate I

The Tradition

One tradition among many, from across India.

India holds dozens of regional folk painting traditions, most still practiced by hand at the village level and passed from one generation of women to the next. This collection begins with Madhubani (Mithila) painting, from the Mithila region of Bihar — one starting point among many we hope to feature over time.

The style is built from bold outlines filled with pattern rather than shading: double-line borders, cross-hatching, and repeating motifs, finished in pigments of vermilion, indigo, ochre and leaf green — done entirely by hand, with no printing or tracing.

Matsya

Fish, for fertility and prosperity

Vriksha

The tree of life, painted overhead

Kohbar

Nuptial geometry & concentric borders

Bharni

Bold, solid fill within an inked line

Repeating black and white pattern of elephants and birds in horizontal bands

The Collection

Eight plates, each painted entirely by hand.

Original works on paper, framed and ready to hang. Reach out on Instagram for current availability and pricing.

Two figures beneath a flowering tree, painted in red, blue, orange and green

Beneath the Tree

Two figures stand close beneath a branch heavy with leaves and flowers — a scene of quiet devotion rendered in red, blue and orange.

A woman carrying a water pot, framed by a flowering branch, in pink, yellow and blue

III

Water Bearer

A woman in profile carries a pot overhead, framed by a flowering branch — one of the most familiar figures in Mithila painting.

In Profile

A single figure set against a dense patterned border, painted in green, red and orange with fine linework throughout.

Six colourful birds perched in a black and white flowering tree

Birds in the Grove

Six birds rest through the branches of a tree rendered in fine black ink, their plumage picked out in the only colour on the page.

Two Faces

A close, quiet composition — two faces rendered entirely in fine ink linework, with only red for accent.

VII

Procession

Elephants and birds repeat in tight horizontal bands — a pattern built the way Mithila borders have always been built, row by row.

Fine black ink fish pattern with pink accents, stacked vertically

VIII

Shoal

Fish stacked the length of the page, scales built from hundreds of small strokes, with only pink allowed to interrupt the ink.

Three circular medallions in fine black ink linework with an orange braided border

Three Medallions

Three circular scenes, each ringed in its own border, held together by a single braided line running the length of the page.

The Artists

Painted by women, across rural India.

Aurakalaoriginals works with women folk artists from rural India — some just out of their teens, others in their eighties — painting in traditions passed down through their families rather than taught in a classroom. For many, it's a skill learned at home long before it became a livelihood.

This collection features Madhubani (Mithila) painting from Bihar, including work by artist Nabita Jha, alongside other women artists working in the same tradition. Every purchase supports the artist who made it directly, and we hope to bring in more regional traditions from across the country over time.

Get in Touch

Interested in a piece for your home?

Aurakalaoriginals is most active on Instagram — message there for current availability, pricing, and custom commission enquiries.

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