Handicraft / Paintings / Manjusha Art

Manjusha Art is a heritage of Ang Pradesh (present times Bhagalpur in Bihar district) and has been prevalent for a long time. It is said to be the only art form in the history of India which has a sequential form of story displayed in a series pictorially. Hence, it is also called scroll painting. The name of this art form also holds an interesting story. The Sanskrit word Manjusa means a ‘box’. These boxes were made from bamboo, Jute-Straw, and paper inside which the devotees kept their ceremonial materials. Manjusha art was traditionally carried out in two parts by two different castes. The Kumbhakar caste was associated with shaping the pots on which the Manjusha art is painted and worshipped during the festival, whereas the Malakar caste was responsible for preparing the actual Manjushas and painting the art on these structures. The boxes were illustrated with paintings that tell a tale. And the tale was of Bihula who saved her husband from the deity’s wrath and a snake-bite and also of Bishahari or Mansa.