Rani Jha

Born and brought up in Madhubani, Dr. Rani Jha is regarded as one of the foremost exponents of Madhubani painting. Deeply traditional yet strikingly contemporary, her paintings bring remarkable sensitivity to themes of womanhood, and challenging issues of gender violence and displacement. She earned her PhD from Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga, in 2010 on The Contribution of Women in Mithila Painting and Literature.

Deeply committed to nurturing the next generation, she teaches at the Mithila Chitrakala Sansthan, Saurath (Madhubani, Bihar), where she mentors young artists.  In recognition of her artistic and cultural leadership, she has received Mithila Ratna, Mithila Bibhuti, multiple state awards and the Grihshobha Women Icon Award. Most recently, the Government of Bihar nominated her to lead a team of five women artists to create a grand alpana in the Madhubani style at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

Dr. Jha often says, “I have a deep love for my culture,” and it is this love that inspired her—despite not being a professional singer—to gladly lend her voice to Khamaaj, recording many traditional songs so that future generations can listen to them in their authentic form.