Saraswati Foundation profile
Godavari Dutt
A leading Mithila painter whose line-based Kachni works and Kohbar paintings have helped define the living tradition of Madhubani art.
Born in Bihar in 1930 and remembered in some public sources as Godawari Dutta, she learned from her mother, Subhadra Devi, and carried the tradition into national and international visibility.
Biography
Godavari Dutt (also referred to in public sources as Godawari Dutta) was a Mithila/Madhubani painter from Bihar, born in 1930 and noted in reliable press as having died in 2024. She learned from her mother, Subhadra Devi, and became a leading practitioner of the Kachni (line-art) style as well as Kohbar painting.
Her work helped sustain and extend the visual vocabulary of Mithila painting, and it has been demonstrated and exhibited in India, Germany and Japan. Her paintings are also held in collections including the Mithila Museum in Tokamachi, Japan.
Awards & Honours
- National Award (1980)
- Bihar Lifetime Achievement Award (2014)
- Shilp Guru Award (2006)
- Padma Shri (2019)
Exhibitions & Residencies
Her work was demonstrated and exhibited in India, Germany and Japan, reflecting both its rootedness in Mithila tradition and its wider international recognition.
Selected Works
No selected Foundation artwork is presented, as no verified Saraswati Foundation collection work match has been found for this profile.