Janaki VivahMadhubani wedding invitation

Janaki Vivah is drawn in the style of Madhubani, the folk painting of Mithila in north Bihar and the Terai of Nepal. For centuries the women of Mithila painted the walls of their homes for weddings, especially the kohbar ghar, the room where the newly married couple sits after the wedding. The name Janaki is Sita's, the daughter of King Janak of Mithila, whose marriage to Ram is the wedding every Maithili family's songs return to.

The template uses the symbols those kohbar paintings are known for. Lotuses stand for beauty and the bride, bamboo stands for growth and the continuing family line, and fish stand for fertility and good fortune. The cover is a painted frame of red and yellow lotuses on a blue pond, tall green bamboo on both sides and a hanging flower vine above, all in the double-line outlines and bright filled colours of the bharni style. Inside, a white village house with fish painted on its walls, banana trees and clay pots opens onto the same lotus pond.

It suits Bihari, Maithili and Purvanchali families, families from Janakpur in Nepal, and anyone who loves Indian folk art. The space in the middle of the frame is generous, so a shloka, a line in Maithili or Bhojpuri, or a long list of family names fits comfortably.

Every function has its own page, so tilak, haldi or ubtan, matkor, the wedding and the chaturthi or reception can each have their own date, time and map.

When guests open the link they see your names inside the lotus frame, a countdown, a voice note from the parents if you add one, Google Maps for each venue, a photo gallery and a simple RSVP, all readable in Hindi or English.