Mohan Kumar Verma belongs to a hereditary lineage of Sanjhi paper-stencil artisans from the region of Mathura and Vrindavan in North India. Practised since the sixteenth century, Sanjhi emerged within temple traditions dedicated to Lord Krishna, where intricately cut paper stencils were used to produce ephemeral floor designs as part of ritual worship. These delicate compositions, created by placing finely cut paper patterns on flat surfaces and filling them with coloured powders, flower petals, or natural pigments, formed a devotional visual language that combined craft, performance, and ritual practice.
Embedded within the Vaishnavite devotional culture of the Braj region, Sanjhi imagery draws extensively from narratives of Krishna’s life, particularly his pastoral and playful encounters in Vrindavan. Stencils are made from handmade paper using specially crafted fine scissors, a process that requires dexterity and precision. The resulting images depict scenes from Krishna’s Rasleela, accompanied by the gopis, pastoral landscapes, and symbolic elements of nature that evoke the sacred geography of Braj.
Historically, Sanjhi formed an integral part of temple ritual cycles. During the fourteen-day period of Shraddha, new designs were created each evening as offerings to Krishna and to honour ancestral spirits. The visual structure of Sanjhi compositions incorporate geometric frameworks, mandalas, radial arrangements, and symmetrical patterns suggesting concepts of cosmic balance and order. Within these compositions, Krishna occupies a central position, signifying the divine as the axis around which the universe is organised.
Working within this inherited visual and devotional framework, Mohan Kumar Verma demonstrates remarkable mastery in the cutting of delicate stencils and the construction of complex pictorial compositions. His works incorporate recurring motifs from the natural and rural environment such as peacocks, bullock carts, horses, cows, butterflies, and trees, alongside narrative scenes drawn from Krishna’s mythology.
Mohan Kumar Verma has participated in many exhibitions such as the Aga Khan Foundation Delhi, the Uttar Madhya Sanskratik Kendra, Allahabad, the Isha Yoga Kendra, Coimbatore, Sanjhi Paper Cutting Kendra, Mathura amongst others. He has won awards from Karigar Haat in 2011 , the Vishista Hast Shilp Pradeshik Pureskar of Uttar Pradesh in 2011-12 and the Suraj Kund Craft Mela Kalamani Award in 2015.
