Bihar Handicrafts You Can Buy As Souvenirs

Bihar is a beautiful state with many Bihar Handicrafts that one can bring back as souvenirs. From paintings, to handcrafted grass to terracotta – the options are abundant. In fact, each of these Bihar handicrafts represent a certain region or aspect of Bihar.

Needless to say, these handicrafts make a perfect Bihar Souvenir to carry back home.

Best Bihar Handicrafts and Souvenirs

Madhubani Paintings

These are the best-known Bihar handicraft, almost a signature art of Bihar. Anyone who has visited Dilli Haat has probably a piece of this folk art with them. Read our detailed post on understanding the nuances of Madhubani Paintings from Mithila region of Bihar.

Manjusha Art

To an untrained eye Manjusha may not look very different from Madhubani. However, this is an art from that comes the eastern part of the state or Bhagalpur region. The stories it depicts are based on Bihula Vishdhari, a woman who crossed all obstacles to become successful.

Red, Green and Yellow are the only three colors used in Manusha. Borders and their designs are very important part of these paintings. I saw many Manasa Devi and Nagas stories painted in Manjusha.

Tikuli Art

Tikuli is another name of Bindi that proudly adorns the foreheads of Indian women. In the 19^th CE Patna, Tikulis used to made from glass that was covered with gold foil and then with a sharp pencil, different designs like floral patterns or images of deities were carved on it. I can only imagine how beautiful and royal these Tikulis would have been.

The modern versions are drawn on circular pieces of wood or plywood and enamel paints. They are also much larger in size than Tikulis that can go on a forehead. Nonetheless, the art form is preserved. Gold on black background remains a popular combination.

Sujani Art

This art form comes from the clothes that the mothers used to make for their newborn kids out of their old Saris. They would stitch together a few layers of an old Sari to make it strong and then with the rest of the cloth make motifs on the cloth. The ones who are talented can craft stories with the pieces stitched together.

In first look, it looked like Aplique work to me. May be the two are distant cousins. Now, in commercial setting, Sujani art is done on fresh clothes. Motifs can vaey from simple geometric patterns to floral patterns to scenes from epics like Ramayana.

Sujani…