Panaji: Madhubani artist Mamta Bharti, who hails from Patna, has been in Goa for the first time, managing Shikha’s Karigari stall offering a painting, few colours and a brush to indulge into famous art from Mithila of ‘Madhubani’ painting. Enthusiastic visitors take a pause to sit and experiment with their own skills or take lessons from the State award winning art teacher. “We have visitors of all ages, some of whom are really interested in learning our art. We are giving away the greeting cards they paint themselves,” states Mamta, a PwD (person with disability) herself, who plans to participate in the next ‘Purple Fest’ and exhibit her art to a wider audience in Goa.
The stall, belonging to Shikha Ajmera, founder of Shikha’s Kariigarii from Delhi showcased hand painted sarees with Pattachitra, Tanjore, Madhubani, Warli and Fusion art which is a mix of all these four arts. The Indian handloom saree fashion show ‘Handloom Sarees in Motion: 70 MM on Runway’ organised by Shikha's Kariigarii grabbed eyeballs of all a day before, drawing girls and women to the stall to have a glimpse of the sarees worn by the models on the ramp.
The sarees are priced at Rs 6000, Rs 8000 and Rs 10,000, while the stoles are available for Rs 600, the dupattas for Rs 1200 and small money purses for Rs 100-200. Apart from being an artist Mamta is an art teacher too, who conducts workshops to train others and was invited by Shikha to teach Madhubani art to visitors.
By Bharati Pawaskar
