Sapta Svara Brochure

Sapta Svara Traditional Indian Folk Art by

Jugnu Verma Exhibition at The Koger Center for the Arts Upstairs Gallery

February 2 - April 3, 2022 This project is funded in part by The South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. This project is also funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

Jugnu Verma Artist Category: Traditional Indian Folk Arts | Folk Heritage Award Jugnu Verma was born in Bihar, the state in India where the art form Madhubani painting originated. Growing up in Bihar, Verma found herself surrounded by Madhubani artists, whose painting was characterized by distinctive geometric patterns. Madhubani paintings depict people, nature, and scenes featuring Hindu deities. Objects like the sun and moon are also common, along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings. Madhubani painting was one of the skills passed down, primarily by women, from generation to generation in the families of the Mithila Region of Bihar. Verma developed an interest in it at an early age. She was fascinated by the variety of tools involved in creating the paintings, including the fingers, twigs, and brushes. Verma took the initiative and learned the art form from her neighbors.

Rangoli, another traditional art form with cultural significance in the Indian community, involves the creation of colorful patterns on the floor using sand, flower petals, rice flour, lentils, and beans. Verma learned rangoli from her neighbor’s grandmother, who taught her the different styles and symbolism within the art. Over the years, Verma improvised and took her work in a variety of creative directions. Typically, rangolis are made at the entrance of homes and temples to bring good luck and as a welcome symbol for visitors. They are an important part of celebratory festivals like Diwali and Onam.

Henna is a plant-based dye that is used to create temporary designs on the body and is an integral part of Indian weddings and festivals. During a traditional Indian wedding, the mehndi (henna) ceremony involves applying henna designs to the bride and to the guests.

Verma learned the traditional art from her mother, a seasoned henna artist. Growing up, Verma created henna designs on her sisters, cousins, aunts, and friends. Thirty years later, henna artistry has become an important part of Verma’s creative lifestyle, and she is a prominent henna artist in South Carolina.

Verma is eager and enthusiastic about sharing her artistic traditions through her work as a Diwali (Indian Festival of Lights) party organizer and in workshops, and exhibitions at the Columbia Museum of Art; the rangoli educator at Overdue: Curated for the Creative, Richland County Main Library; and as a lead artist at Artista Vista in Columbia. Verma enjoys working with young people and teaches traditional Indian art forms extensively in the local school districts.

Verma feels it is important for South Carolinians to know about India and its culture and she serves as a cultural ambassador through her work throughout the state. She is passionate about cultural outreach and building bonds with the larger community. According to Verma, “Folk art enhances and enriches celebrations and rituals, and it tells people who others are.”

Sapta svara,

also called sapta swara or sapta sur, refers to the seven distinct notes of the octave or the seven successive svaras of a saptak. The sapta svara can be collectively referred to as the sargam (which is an acronym of the consonants of the first four svaras).

Sargam is the Indian equivalent to solfège, a technique for the teaching of sight-singing. As in Western moveable-Do solfège, the svara Sa is the tonic of a piece or scale. The seven svaras of the saptak are the fundamentals of heptatonic scales or melakarta ragas and thaats in Carnatic and Hindustani classical music.

The seven svara are Shadja (षड्ज), Rishabh (ऋषभ), Gandhar (गान्धार), Madhyam (मध्यम), Pancham (पंचम), Dhaivat (धैवत) and Nishad (निषाद). The svaras of the sargam are often learnt in abbreviated form: sā, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni. Of these, the first svara that is "sa", and the fifth svara that is "pa", are considered anchors (achal svaras) that are unalterable, while the remaining have flavours (komal and tivra svaras) that differs between the two major systems.

Each svara is associated with: • The sound produced by a particular animal or bird • A classical planet • A colour • One of the seven chakras in the body

Sā (Shadja) - Peacock, Mercury, Green, and Muladhara Ri (Rishabh) - Bull, Mars, Red, and Svadisthana Ga (Gandhar) - Goat, Sun, Golden, and Manipura Ma (Madhyam) - Heron, Moon, White, and Anahata Pa (Pancham) - Cuckoo, Saturn, Blue or Black, and Vishuddhi Dha (Dhaivat) - Horse, Jupiter, Yellow, and Ajna Ni (Nishad) - Elephant, Venus, Multi-coloured, and Sahasrara

Madhubani Painting Also referred to as the art of Mithila, Madhubani paintings are said to originate from the kingdom of Janaka, who was the father of Sita in the much beloved Hindu epic Ramayana, in Nepal and in present-day Bihar.

The paintings are produced using mineral pigments prepared by the artists and were traditionally drawn on freshly plastered mud walls. For commercial purposes, the same has now been achieved on paper, cloth, canvas, and other media.

The method involves using cotton wrapped around a bamboo stick as the brush. Black color is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung, yellow from turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves, blue from indigo, red from the kusum flower juice (from the Ceylon Oak tree) or red sandalwood, green from the leaves of apple trees, white from rice powder, and orange from palasha flowers.

The art form is characterized by geometric patterns and mostly depict scenes gods, weddings, flora, and fauna. Madhubani paintings are widely practiced by women as a means to cultivate their spirituality and yearning to be one with God. In fact, the All India Handicrafts Board and the Government of India have encouraged female artists to produce said paintings on handmade paper for commercial sale. In this manner, the Madhubani paintings have become a primary source of income for many families. The paintings now serve as a tribute to the original women of Mithila who first developed the techniques of said wall paintings.

Examples of Madhubani painting are seen in: Wall mural- Kalpvrishka - The Tree of Life The seven “Sapta Svara” large pieces Paintings 10-20 on the wall of smaller paintings (The number key to these paintings is located on the next page.)

For information regarding purchase of the artwork, please contact the artist at: jugnuvermajv@gmail.com

This project is funded in part by The South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. This project is also funded in part by a generous award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

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Ti t l e: Ai pan Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Ar i pan Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Sugga Da t e: 2016 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Nai naJ ogi n Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c&Ac r yl i ci nk

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Ti t l e: Al pana Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: RadhaKr i s hna Da t e: 2018 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Har mony Da t e: 2020 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Vi dhVi dhat a Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c&Ac r yl i ci nk

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Ti t l e: Mandana Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Kat hput l i Da t e: 2017 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Kohbar Da t e: 2016 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: Shi vNandi Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c&Ac r yl i ci nk

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Ti t l e: Mandal a 9.

Ti t l e: War l i Da t e: 2019 Da t e: 2017 Medi um: Ac r yl i candhenna Medi um: Ac r yl i c 5.

Ti t l e: Kol am Da t e: 2019 Medi um: Ac r yl i c

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Ti t l e: GodnaMi t hi l a 14.

Ti t l e: Mot i Ram Mi t hi l a Da t e: 2020 Da t e: 2020 um: Ac r yl i c&Ac r yl i ci nk Medi um: Ac r yl i c&I ndi ani nk Medi

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Ti t l e: Sur ya 10.

Ti t l e: T ant r i cMi t hi l a 15.

Ti t l e: L at pat i aSugga Da t e: 2019 Da t e: 2021 Da t e: 2019 um: Ac r yl i c&Ac Medi um: Ac r yl i c&I ndi ani nk Medi r yl i ci nk um: Ac r yl i c&Ac r yl i ci nk Medi