LIKHNU - A FLOOR ART PAINTING

  

Decoration of floors in geometric fashions or drawings of narrative sequences of mythology on the walls of houses are very common, though less acknowledged forms of Indian traditional painting. 

Floor Painting has been recorded in the ‘Chitralakshana’ and in the Ramayana. These paintings are known by different names in different parts of the country, ‘alpana’ in Bengal and Assam, ‘aripana’ in Bihar, ‘mandana’ in Rajasthan, ‘rangoli’ in Maharashtra, ‘sathiya’ in Gujarat, ‘sona rakhna’ and ‘chowkpurana’ in Uttar Pradesh, ‘ossan’ or ‘jhunti’ in Orissa and ‘kolam’ in Tamil Nadu. 

In Himachal Pradesh, the Pahari women draw many diagrammatic designs called ‘yantras’ on the thresholds on ceremonial occasions. This form of floor painting is locally known as ‘haugaiyan’, while other terms like ‘dehar’, ‘likhnu’ and ‘chauk’ apply to specific forms of floor art painting.

The process involves sweeping the floor and then “Lipna” which is plastering it with cow-dung which, once it begins to dry, is then burnished with a round stone. Sometimes women create foliated borders using finger-tips on the wet coating. The background is painted with brown coloured earth (Loshti). Materials used to paint include rice or wheat flour paste or white earth known as Golu or Makol.

Mostly in India, the patterns are normally executed with their fingers by the ladies but the here the patterns can be created using makol involves a different technique. The makol paste is prepared by adding water to the white earthen cakes. It is then filled in an earthen pot with a small hole at its bottom which is then moved by the women so as to create various circular patterns. Sometimes an earthen jar with a spout is used for this purpose. The woman keeps on moving unselfconsciously in a rhythmic formation, spontaneously creating a large bold, fluent and rhythmic pattern. Here, the fingers or hands are insufficient to perform the job, thus the whole body moves blissfully to accomplish the feat. These patterns so formed are necessarily circular with inset lotus symbols.

 The ‘Likhnu’ - the floor art of Himachal Pradesh is drawn on family functions like marriage ceremony, birthdays and religious and social functions like ‘Holi’, ‘Lohri’, Janamashthmi’ ‘Ahoi’, ‘Diwali’ etc. 

(This blogpost is a part of Blogchatter's #BLOGCHATTERA2Z2023)