• SANGEETA MISHRA

India has always been known for its rich cultural heritage since ancient times. Favorably endowed with a wide array of forms and mediums of expression; their beliefs, impression of natural and supernatural elements, their worldviews etc., the people of this sub-continent have contributed towards making India a great civilization. Folklore and folk arts of India speak volumes about their contribution to the rich heritage tag. They are not merely carriers of culture, but rather expressions of the inherent living spirit of the community; an expression of their inherent life experiences and they continue to exist as living traditions portraying the ethnic and traditional vibrancy through their unique arts and crafts. Folk painting is, most often, one such form where narratives and worldview of the community is portrayed in visual tradition; each unique in their style of representation and have made its presence felt to a wider degree in India. Customarily practiced, as part of ritual and sanctified function in the inner domains; houses and villages, Mithila painting tradition, with motifs and traditional patterns, has been doing their rounds on walls, floors and other decorative products. However, in recent times, it has been observed that it has come out of the confinements and carve a niche for itself as a popular culture in the metropolitan cities. This paper is an attempt towards understanding the development of the progress and travel of Mithila painting tradition from a closed, domestic and local space to the national and global sphere. This paper also intends to explore some of the factors that made the folk art form attain a popular culture status in the contemporary times.

Mithila Painting, Bihar, Folk art, Traditional art, Changing scenario

"Journey of a Folk Art: The Case of Mithila Painting of Bihar", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 3, page no.1619-1623, March-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2103205.pdf

"Journey of a Folk Art: The Case of Mithila Painting of Bihar", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 3, page no. pp1619-1623, March-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2103205.pdf