Swans in Lotus pond-Waves of Beauty! ( My sketch)

As a self learning budding artist I like sketch and paint based on Indian mythology & epics. As I love to read in mythology Where lotus bloom,and  spread perfume,and their flowers have magical powers,Where swans reside and radiate their magic charm,while reading I feel How beautiful to personify?

                                 ( I sketched this in madhubani and contemporary style used acrlic colour in handmadepaper)

The lotus flower occupies a huge space in the minds of many pond owners  painters and designers. Many water gardeners consider their lotus flowers the pride of their pond, Why has this one flower become such a widespread and important symbol? The answer is found in what the lotus is and how it grows. The lotus is unusual among flowers in part for how steadily perfect the blooms tend to be. The blooms are showy and striking, even more so because they stand high above the muddy water that they naturally grow in.

It symbolizes purity or beauty of the body, speech, and mind as while rooted in the mud, its flowers blossom on long stalks as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. It is also symbolic of detachment as drops of water easily slide off its petals.

Wherein the swan graces vibrant traditions as the Hamsa bird. 'Hamsa' is Sanskrit for 'swan'; at the same time, it means 'soul.' It is also the Upanishadic mantra, 'Ham-Sa,' which means I Am the Divine. Primarily it symbolizes discrimination. It is told the Hamsa is bestowed with the ability to separate milk from water, or truth from illusion, the eternal from the impermanent, etc.

It is like the Hamsa swan wearily circling, searching for a resting place, and finally settling upon its own reflection in the still lake.

So I took the concept in  the Saundarya Lahari by Adi sankara's 38 sloka  two swans (Ham and Sa) pair together, swimming around in the divine mind "living on honey from the blooming lotus of knowledge." Isn't that a lovely concept?

                       ( Madhubani design using sakoro pens in A4 Paper)

Samunmeelath samvithkamala makarandhaika rasikam
Bhaje hamsadwandham kimapi mahatham maanasacharam
Yadhalapaa dhashtadasa gunitha vidhyaparinathi
Yadadhathe doshad gunamakhila madhbhaya paya eva

I pray before the swan couple,
Who only enjoy the honey,
From the fully open,
Lotus flowers of knowledge,
And who swim in the lake,
Which is the mind of great ones,
And also who can never be described.
From them come the eighteen arts,
And they differentiate the good from the bad,
Like the milk from water.
 (MeaningSource)

O Devi, I meditate before the two Swans who drink and enjoy the honey from the lotus of knowledge. The swans swim in the lake which is nothing but the mind of great personalities. The 18 arts are created from the sweet utterings of these swans. They separate the good from the bad like water from milk. Here the two swans are referring to Lord Shiva and Shakti.

The eighteen arts mentioned in Shlokam No. 38 are, 4 Vedas, Siksha, Kalpam, Vyakaranam, Niruktam, Sandas, Jyotisham, Meemamsam, Nyayam, Puranam, Dharma Shastram, Ayurvedam, Dhanurvedam, Gandarva Vedam and Needi Shastram.

There is a type of meditation known as “Hamswa Dwandwa Upasanam”. So, the next time you’re sitting and enjoying the Queen of the Pond, take a moment to consider how important this flower is across the world and how millionsof people over the last several thousand years have meditating on the meaning of this uniquely beautiful living thing.

Hope you all liked the concept!

Madhubani Painting!

Madhubani Paintings, also known as Mithila paintings is one of the ancient forms of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar state, India and the adjoining parts of Terai in Nepal. I have never attended any class to teach myself Madhubani, I have never  met anyone who liked  Madhubani painting. I am very interested in Mithila art, As an admirer of this form of painting, and as a beginner was so delighted to read about this Painting  So I Goggled about it  and read through those very similar articles about Madhubani art and wanted to straight away draw...The Images taken from google and Madhubani art book.

 This Is first Try of Madhubhani In Pot

The Madhubani painting or Mithila Painting are originated at the time of the Ramayana, when King Janak commissioned artists to do paintings at the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita, to Hindu god Lord Ram.These paintings has been done traditionally by the women of villages around the present town of Madhubani (the literal meaning of which is forests of honey) and other areas of Mithila. The name is itself named on the village Madhubani.

The painting was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud wall of huts, The paints colors were made using natural dyes/pigments were traditionally derived from natural sources like plants, charcoal soot, ochre etc and painted using twigs, fingers brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks, and is characterized by eye-catching geometrical patterns.“

Madhubani paintings mostly depict nature and Hindu devotional events, and the themes generally revolve around Hindu deities like Krishna, Ram, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and the religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted, along side scenes from the royal courts and social events like weddings. Generally no empty space is left; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric design

This is one art which requires patience ...the space is usually not left blank but filled with some geometric patterns and other small animals amidst the deities ! Painting the complicated designs is time consuming and of course perfection to fill in the small gaps ..

I loved the bold use age of colours, ornate floral pattern, double line border, geometric figures, flora and fauna in those beautiful Madhubani Folk Art... The designs of a Madhubani painting can be as simplistic or as complicated as you want them to be. Also, the colours can be as vibrant as you like. This is my first attempt at a Madhubani using water colurs and pen on paper.

Materials Required

•Cloth/Handmade paper

•Trace paper

•Fabric colours(for cloth)

•Poster colours (for paper)

•Black outliner

•Carbon sheet

Choose a design anddraw the required pattern on the trace paper and copy the design into the cloth/paper using carbon sheet.

The design pattern should be simple and clear ! It is often seen that traditionally there are only basic colours used like orange , green and red but you can add colurs like pink, purple, blue to make it more attractive.

You can make improvements in designs like changing the features of face, as it generally seen features in Madhubani are not sharp.

Make sure you have a border . It will add new dimensions to your painting

Over the weekend I have managed to finish this one...my first MADHUBANI Painting