[This painting is made by famous artist and cartoonist Mahendra Prasad]

 

[This piece of article is provided by Ms. SONAM DHINGRA who is a prominent art teacher at City Vocational Public School, Meerut, by profession and an artist herself. She has done in-depth research on indian arts and crafts.]

In the beginning, only a few Brahmin women were given the opportunity to practise this art, but after some ten years, women from the Kayastha community came forward with a new style. Till recently, the women of the Harijans were not given an opportunity to experiment with this art. There is an interesting story behind it. The women of higher castes were not allowed to cross the
boundary of their houses but wanted to do some work to generate income for their family, mainly during natural calamities. However, the women of lower castes helped their husbands or male counterparts by working in agricultural fields and