ARTIST MEJU OF MANKOT ,JAMMU

                                           

                  ( Death of Bali by Meju)

              ( Raja Mahipat Dev by Meju)

     ( Dasaratha with Barat of Sri Rama by Meju)

  ( Meju with Raja Mahipat Dev by Meju ) 

        ( Hanuman and Sri Rama by Meju )

                ( Birth of Sri Krishna by Meju ) 

 MEJU ( Active Period 1680 AD -1730 AD ), A MASTER ARTIST FROM THE KINGDOM OF  MANKOT, JAMMU 

Falling between Jammu and Basohli and deriving its name from Raja Manak Dev, Mankot  kingdom of Jammu was ruled by the Jamwal clan of the Dogra Rajputs. Presently known as Ramkot, for a period, Mankot was a part of the  Jasrota kingdom of Jammu. Accessible from Udhampur and Kathua, people of this area call themselves Mankotias. There is a fort which was the seat of „Mankotia‟ chiefs, who are known as Mankotia Mians.

Shortly after 1650, Mankot developed a school of portraiture, and this was to last for more than a century. The miniature painting style associated with the Mankot flourished from the late 17th century to the 18th century. Many religious texts were illustrated during this period. Apart from Ramayana, episodes from the life of Sri Krishna, as told through the Bhagavata Purana, were often illustrated.  Many prominent art historians and critics like M S Randhawa, W G Archer, Chaitanya Krishna, and Sonika Sandhu have done extensive work on Mankot paintings. Mankot art bears a similarity to the Basohli type and the artists  of Mankot Darbar have used vivid colours while their subjects are often  bold. Most of the Mankot Miniatures are lying in museums across the world. Many are preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Meju has been a prominent artist of Mankot Darbar. His paintings are also in possession of various museums the world over. Meju is believed to have been active for more than 50 years 1680-1750 in Mankot. He illustrated the Bhagwat Purana for Mankot Rajas pages of which are now lying in Museum Rietberg,  Zürich, Boston Museums, Metropolitan Museum Of Art ( New York),  and  The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Meju is reported to have worked as head of the painting workshop in the court of Raja Mahipat Dev (r. 1660–90) of Mankot. He made numerous portraits and illustrations for both sacred texts and musical modes (Ragamalas). The characteristics of his work are the monochromatic backgrounds — mainly olive-green and yellow-orange — the reduction of pictorial detail to only what is necessary for the narrative, and the use of strong dominant colours throughout.
It may be clarified that most of the miniature paintings created in the hills of Jammu and Himachal were executed in a workshop style where a group of artists joined hands with one master artist known as Tarkhan or the man who drew  outlines. Mughal paintings were also  made in workshops, which were a combined effort of a group of artists. The process involved basic draft drawing, grinding and finally filling in colours. Some artists would make colours and some artists would fill colours. There were calligraphists as well in these workshops. Names of master artists were recorded in the royal atelier, which indicated the position they enjoyed in court.  

 ( Avtar Mota )

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