The ceremonial folk art known as aipan art is associated with the Kumaon area of Uttarakhand and consists of white paintings of conch shells, flowers, goddess footprints, and so on against a distinctive red background. While drawing styles have altered in recent years, traditional aipan art was largely centered on natural things and geometric forms.
Derived from the word ‘arpan’, which translates to ‘writing’, the aipan art is done by using the last three fingers of the right hand.
A decade ago, the Kumaon area would have been proud of this style of art, with vacant walls adorned with red and white motifs, and the festive seasons would be incomplete without it. The same cannot be true for now, since sightings have decreased and the aipan custom has grown more infrequent.
The 24-year-old artist named Minakshi Khati noticed this while she was in college and made the decision to challenge the established quo.
She tells The Better India, “I wanted to bring back the traditional aipan, which is the pride of Uttrakhand, and keep its cultural value. She does, however, emphasize that in order to resurrect something, one must first comprehend its significance.”
Growing up, Minakshi was exposed to the value of aipan and saw how prevalent it was in her state. The desired designs are drawn into a red background using a paste produced from rice. The art, which is typically created on blank walls, residential courtyards, and temples, is especially associated with the holiday season since it is believed that the patterns serve as a means of calling upon the divine and warding off evil spirits. ” It was a generational art form, and as I grew up I began to notice how the art form began to get rarer, not just in families, but even in social contexts,” she continues.
This was a gap that Minakshi was determined to close, so after completing her Bachelor of Science, she launched Minakriti: The Aipan Project in 2019 as a means of giving the art form its due attention while also giving the local women employment opportunities. After Minakshi believed she had learned everything there was to know about aipan, she started talking to the local ladies in Kumaon to see if they would be interested in bringing this back to life.
Currently, Minakshi employs 30 women in her business, and according to her, each one of them makes between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 each month, depending on how many orders they can successfully fulfill.
“When I started out this was the biggest challenge I foresaw, on building a successful business model out of the art form,” expresses Minakshi.