Ujjain artist paints 111-metre Mandana Shiv Baraat in 32 hours

Siddharth Bhagchandani, a 26-year-old artist from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, has painted a 111-metre-long Mandana folk artwork depicting the Shiv Baraat, the wedding procession of Lord Shiva, in 32 hours, 3 minutes and 42 seconds, according to reports published on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. The work was made at an event called Mandana Tapasya, organised by the Mandana Chaupal wing of the Pratikalpa Cultural Organisation with the support of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board and the Ujjain district administration. The organisers say the painting has been recognised by the Golden Book of World Records and that an entry in the Limca Book of Records is also being sought.

Mandana is a folk art traditionally painted on the courtyards and walls of homes during festivals and religious occasions, as the reports on the Ujjain event point out. Its home is the household, not the gallery, and its patterns were passed on within families. Like many home-based folk arts, it depends on each new generation choosing to learn it, and on people still having courtyards and walls to decorate.

Taking the art from the courtyard to a long canvas is one way practitioners are trying to keep it alive. A canvas can travel, be exhibited and be seen by people who would never enter a village home. A record attempt, for all its focus on size and speed, also draws attention, and the support of the state tourism board shows that Madhya Pradesh sees folk art as part of what it offers visitors.

The subject chosen also has local meaning. Ujjain is an ancient temple city closely associated with the worship of Shiva, and the Shiv Baraat, the procession that according to tradition accompanied Shiva to his wedding, is a scene with many figures that suits a long, flowing composition.

There are limits to what the record claims show. The figures come from the organisers and from news reports; the record bodies' own certificates or statements were not available. Private record books such as the Golden Book of World Records set their own categories, so "largest folk painting" can mean different things in different listings. What is not in doubt is the scale of the effort: more than 100 metres of hand-drawn traditional design in a little over a day and a third.

Short-term: The attempt puts Mandana, and Ujjain's folk artists, in the public eye, and may draw visitors and buyers to exhibitions of the work.

Long-term: Showcases like this, backed by the state tourism board, can encourage young people to learn traditional arts and give practitioners new ways to earn a living from them, as long as the art's meaning is kept alongside the spectacle.

Who is affected: Folk artists and Mandana practitioners in Madhya Pradesh, cultural organisations working to preserve home-based art forms, art students, and tourism planners in Ujjain.

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