Sanjhi Painting

Why in news?

• At the QUAD Summit held at Tokyo, Indian PM carried with him gifts like Sanji Painting for leaders of the US, Australia and Japan showcasing India’s rich cultural heritage and art forms.

About Sanjhi Painting:

• This traditional art form that originated out of the cult of Krishna
• It involves creating stencils based on incidents from the life of the deity and then hand-cutting these on thin sheets of paper using scissors.
• In olden times, the stencils were made using rough paper or banana leaves, but now this has changed to handmade and recycled paper.
• Radha, according to Hindu mythology, used to paint sanjhi patterns on the walls for her beloved Krishna and later the gopis of Vrindavan followed suit.
• Later, the form was used to make ceremonial rangolis in temples dedicated to Lord Krishna.
• In fact, the term ‘sanjhi’ is derived from ‘sanjh’ or dusk (Evening) and is related to the practice of making rangolis in temples at dusk.
• In the form of painting, sanjhi was popularised in the 15th and 16th centuries by the Vaishnava temples and was practiced by Priests.
• During the Mughal period, contemporary themes were added and several families have continued to practice the form to this day.

Add ons:

• During the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the pictograms were inspired by traditional Sanjhi art.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Sanjhi Painting’:

1. It was popularized Buddhist monks

2. It involves creating stencils based on incidents from the life of the deity and then hand-cutting these on thin sheets of paper using scissors

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer