Madhubani on Silk....Work in Progress.

15 of my new paintings listed on Novica




'The Powerful Goddess'
Fierce and fearless, Durga is the mother goddess in the Hindu pantheon, empowered by all gods to slay the nefarious buffalo-demon and establish peace in three worlds. According to legend she was created for this purpose out of flames issued from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the lesser gods. She was born fully-grown and beautiful; nevertheless, she presents a menacing form to her enemies

I found a list of books on Madhubani paintings or books having references to this art form from http://www.vl-site.org/india/mithila/books.html

Here goes the list--

Anand, Mulk Raj, Madhubani Painting (New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1984).

Archer, Mildred, Indian Popular Painting in the India Office Library (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1977).

Archer, William G., Songs for the Bride: Wedding Rites of Rural India, ed. by Barbara Stoler Miller and Mildred Archer (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985).

Brown, Carolyn Henning, "Contested Meanings: Tantra and the Poetics of Mithila Art," American Ethnologist 23, 4 (November 1996), 717-37.
[All of the listed titles can be read more profitably in relation to the proposals put forward by Professor Brown.]

Brown, Carolyn Henning, "The Women Painters of Mithila," in Festival of India in the United States 1985-1986 (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1985), 155-61.

Craven, Roy C., A Concise History of Indian Art (London: Thames and Hudson; New York: Praeger, 1976).

Craven, Roy C., Indian Art: A Concise History, revised edition (London: Thames and Hudson, 1997).

Jayakar, Pupul, The Earth Mother: Legends, Ritual Arts, and Goddesses of India (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1990).

Jain, Jyotindra, Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in Mithila Painting (Ahmedabad, India: Mapin Publishing Pvt Ltd., in association with The Mithila Museum, Niigata, Japan, 1997).
[A fine book on a leading artist who practiced what is sometimes called the Kayastha style of Madhubani painting.]

Mode, Heinz and Subodh Chandra, Indian Folk Art (New York: Alpine Fine Arts Collection, Ltd., 1985).
[Useful for background and comparative study.]

Thakur, Upendra, Madhubani Painting (New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, n.d.).

Vequaud, Yves, The Women Painters of Mithila (London: Thames and Hudson, 1977).
[This is a book that contributed to and then reflected the worldwide popularity of Madhubani painting.]

A short documentary on Madhubani painting

Ardha-Nareshwar

Description as written on Wikipedia--Ardhanareshwar represents synthesis of masculine and feminine energies. The Ardhanari form also illustrates how the female principle of God, Shakti, is inseparable from the male principle of God, Shiva. Ardhanari in iconography is depicted as half-male and half-female, split down the middle. The best sculptural depictions of Shiva as Ardhanari are to be seen in the sensuous Chola dynasty bronzes and the sculptures at Ellora and Elephanta.