By Minal Sinha Srivastava Posted o 2021
Tikuli art is a unique art form of Bihar, which has a very rich and deep traditional history.
HISTORY
The word ‘tikuli’ is the local term for ‘bindi’, which is usually a bright, colorful dot that women wear between their brows. Tikuli art originated in Patna over 800 years ago during Maurya dynasty [323BC – 183 BC]. It deals with beautifully designed ‘bindis’ which are manufactured in the local streets of the city.
The process involved melting glass, adding traced pattern in natural colors and thereafter embellishing it with gold foil to create the “tikuli” or “bindi”, which was worn by married Indian women on their forehead.
The Mughals showed a large deal of patronage to this form, and appreciated its underlying significance to a great degree. Since this craft was very intricate and detailed, it required a great deal of skills. Tikuli art was expensive too, as the value of the art was directly proportional to the refinement of the work.
With the coming of the British Raj, Tikuli art faced a severe blow. The British introduced industrialization, and indigenous goods came to be replaced by cheap machine-made goods. Thousands of Tikuli artists were left jobless as machine-made bindis came into the market, and Tikuli art was lost in the chaos. To keep the art alive, the tikuli artists changed the whole idea of replacing smaller glass pieces with bigger MDF boards and gold foil gave way to colorful enamel paints.
MAKING PROCESS
The creation of tikuli art is a tedious process that requires a great deal of patience.
Artists employ hardboards as their surface to draw on, and cut it into ornate shapes. These are coated with four or five layers of enamel.
After each coat is applied, the surface is rubbed with sandpaper to give a glossy, polished effect.
After applying the final layer of enamel coat, the designs are drawn on with paint, and embellished with gold foil and crystals.
The brushes used are made of squirrel or sable hair, and they are of a very fine thickness. Spring and summer are the best seasons to create this form, since an optimum temperature for drying the enamel and paint is achieved.
Today, the intricacy of tikuli art is what makes it a popular product for export. Forms like these showcase the diversity and intricacy of Indian art to the rest of the world. The themes used mainly portray myths from the life of Krishna, as well as Indian wedding scenes and the festivals of Bihar, thus forming a visual text for the Indian context in some way.
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