Creative Canvas: When History Meets Art in Orchha

By Dr. Vanita Srivastava

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These women narrate the story of 'King' Ram through paint and brush

Nineteen-year-old Rakhi Sharma has a mission - an artistic one. She wants to bring alive the historical story of Lord Ram's connect with Orchha; not through a documentary or a film, but through paint and brush.

"The story of Lord Ram being worshipped as King in Orchha is well documented. I wanted to weave this story through Bundeli art," says Sharma who wants to become a teacher in art.

Four months back she painted a picture of Lord Ram giving a helping hand to the Queen of Orchha while she was offering an emotive prayer on Saryu river in Ayodhya. The painting made in two days had fetched her a little over Rs 7000.

For capturing the history on the canvas, Sharma visits the temples, forts, and archaeological remnants of the city at regular intervals. She clicks the photo of any image that she feels could be easily transported through pictorial colours. The canvas is mostly homemade paper that she gets from Taragram, 6 kms from Orchha.

Her 'library' of paintings see-saws through different stories of Orchha. There is a painting of the Queen combing her hair, one in which the King and the Queen are talking to each other, and many more in the same category.

Kamlesh Kushwah, 36, had fleshed out a slice from the city's spiritual terrain  - the King and the Queen of Orchha walking with Lord Ram on the lap of the Queen.

"Historical narrations speak on the Queen returning from Ayodhya with Lord Ram in the child form. I gave it a twist by adding the figure of King also. This was made on homemade paper, to which some cow dung and turmeric were splashed. My eyes had welled when my final creation was born," she says.

The painting fetched her, Rs 8500. Kushwah runs her house by selling these paintings.

Manisha Kushwaha, 22, also likes to use limestone for her paintings. "This makes it even more attractive. I am now planning to make a painting of the Queen's journey from Ayodhya to Orchha."

And so is 22-year-old Neha Soni - she too plans to create an art that has reflections on Queen's journey on foot from Ayodhya to Orchha with Lord Ram.

These are just four of the women who have endeavored to dig out the history of Orchha through Bundeli art.

Most of the women knew the vocabulary of painting since childhood but the 'actual transformation' in their creative skill came after they were trained in Bundeli art. 

The training was carried out with the help of MP Tourism Board - as part of the   Safe Tourism Destination for women project initiated by the Board to create a women friendly environment and boost inclusive tourism. The project also aims to boost women's workforce participation through skill development and employment opportunities particularly in the tourism sector.

"Besides boosting their employment opportunities, this has etched a creative storytelling platform," says Manoj Nayak, who helped train around 20 - 30 women in this art.

The Legend

Shri Ram Raja Temple also known as the Orchha Temple is one of its kind in the country where Lord Ram is worshipped as a King and not as deity. The structure is painted with hues of white, pink and yellow.

Anecdotes mention that king Madhukar Shah was a devotee of Krishna, and his queen Ganesh Kunwari was a Ram devotee. This would often cause a tussle between the two. The king challenged the queen that if Ram really existed, then she should bring him to Orchha.

The Rani went to Ayodhya where she performed a rigorous penance but despite her prayers, the Lord did not appear, so she decided to jump into Saryu river.  Hearing her prayers, Lord Ram appeared before the queen as a child. When she requested Ram to accompany her to Orchha, the Lord agreed with three conditions - this included that he will be the only king of Orchha, secondly, he would always remain at the place wherever he is placed and lastly, he would leave for Orchha only during a specific time. 

The king was conveyed the message about Lord's arrival in Orchha and he started constructing a grand temple for placing the Lord. The Queen travelled on foot for several months from Ayodhya to Orchha but only during the Pushya Nakshatra (an auspicious period) - as had been told by the Lord.

The queen however reached Orchha before the temple could be completed and went to her palace - Rani Mahal - where she placed the idol. 

Even today, Lord Ram remains in the palace of the Rani and is worshipped as the 'King' of Orchha, complete with a guard of honour and gun salute.