As one, opens the cultural basket of India, the first treasure comes out is the excellent paintings. Apart from the globally acclaimed painters, India is also rich with the traditional rural paintings, like Madhubani Paintings of Bihar. The village women exploring their imagination make the paintings, and these bright paintings are going palaces across the globe. These traditional Indian folk art paintings are worth of collection.
Floor Painting: The origin of painting is traced to a moving legend recorded in the Chitralakshana – the earliest Indian treatise on painting. The Chola rulers in the south, made extensive use of Kolam, floor designs. These decorations are done only by women and are amongst the most expressive of folk-arts. They are known by different names in different parts of the country, Alpana in Bengal and Assam, Aripana in Bihar, mandana in Rajasthan, rangoli in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Chowkpurana in Uttar Pradesh and Kolam in the South. The Rajasthani mandana is equally rich. Floor paintings in Andhra are known as Muggulu and Himachal Pradesh has its own distinctive floor paintings with geometrical patterns.
Wall Paintings: The paintings on walls have deeper themes, also narrative in a series of panels. Wall paintings are usually made at festivals and special occasions like marriages. Folk paintings attain a high standard and artists won a great fame in this art.
Phad Paintings: Phad Paintings are predominantly yellow, red and green colored long scrolls carried by the “Bhopas” itinerant balladeers of Rajasthan who narrated in song the legend of Pabuji – a local hero. Phads are now also available in smaller panels portraying single incidents or characters from the epic.
Mughal Miniature: Of all the art forms in the Mughal period, miniature paintings are painstakingly painted creations that depict the events and lifestyle of the Mughals in their magnificent palaces. Other paintings include portraits or studies of wildlife and plants. This art is still alive and popular in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Madhubani: The wall paintings of Madhubani are joyous expressions of the women in Madhubani. The lively compositions and the vibrant colors used to paint them are generally drawn from Indian mythology.
Ideal destination to shop: Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal.
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