--- title: "Bihar: 160 artists complete 108-metre Mithila Ramayana canvas" url: https://projectchintan.com/article/bihar-160-artists-longest-mithila-painting-8nuzk publisher: Project Chintan author: Project Chintan Newsroom section: Society published: 2026-08-21T05:02:36.806Z modified: 2026-08-21T06:30:05.963Z language: en-IN --- # Bihar: 160 artists complete 108-metre Mithila Ramayana canvas In Saurath, Bihar, 160 artists and students collaborated to create a single 108-metre Mithila painting depicting 51 Ramayana scenes. The work unrolled as one continuous strip, blending traditional folk art with a large-scale canvas, and was unveiled around India's Independence Day in August 2026. ## Key takeaways - A collaborative 160-artist effort produced a continuous 108-metre Mithila painting in Bihar. - The artwork tells 51 scenes from the Ramayana, drawn from Valmiki and Tulsidas texts. - The project unrolled as a single strip to maintain narrative cohesion across scenes. ## What Happened In Saurath village, within the Madhubani district of Bihar, a large group of about 160 artists and students joined to paint a single, continuous artwork. The canvas measures 108 metres in length and 1 metre in width and was unrolled as one uninterrupted strip, allowing multiple artists to work on different sections at once. The finished piece comprises 51 scenes drawn from both Valmiki's Ramayana and Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, forming a continuous visual narrative of Ram’s life and journey. The process involved initial sketching of black outlines by trained Mithila painters, followed by layering color to define figures, borders, and motifs. The project sits within the Mithila Chitrakala Sansthan, an institution that trains students in the Mithila painting tradition. The Ramayana holds particular resonance in Mithila, as the region is culturally linked to Sita’s birthplace and to local memory surrounding the epic. The unveiling took place around India’s Independence Day in August 2026, tying the display to both the preservation of Mithila art and a broader national celebration of culture and history. ## Why It Matters The effort served as a large-scale revival and public demonstration of Mithila painting, a centuries-old folk art that evolved from mud-walled homes to paper, cloth, and large canvases. By unrolling the canvas into a single strip, the project emphasized unity in storytelling and showcased how traditional art forms can scale to monumental formats while preserving narrative coherence across dozens of scenes. The collaboration linking generations of artists highlights ongoing transmission of a regional art form and its capacity to engage contemporary audiences during a national commemorative moment. ## Background Mithila painting originated as decor on mud walls and gradually extended to handmade paper, cloth, and larger canvases. The Mithila Chitrakala Sansthan is a key institution in training artists in this centuries-old tradition, reinforcing the community’s role in sustaining and evolving the art form. Saurath, the village where this project occurred, is noted in the report as a site with deep ties to Mithila’s artistic lineage and cultural memory tied to the Ramayana. ## Key Facts - Location: Saurath village, Madhubani district, Bihar - Participants: about 160 artists and students - Artwork dimensions: 108 metres long, 1 metre wide - Format: a single, uninterrupted canvas with no separate panels - Content: 51 scenes from Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas - Process: trained Mithila painters sketched outlines, then colored figures and motifs - Institution: Mithila Chitrakala Sansthan - Unveiling time: around India’s Independence Day, August 2026 ## What Happens Next The report raises questions about display and preservation for such a long canvas and how audiences will experience all 51 episodes in a single viewing. It notes potential next steps in finding a display venue and developing ways to present the work cohesively over time, given its exceptional length. --- Canonical: https://projectchintan.com/article/bihar-160-artists-longest-mithila-painting-8nuzk Reported from: Multiple Sources