Find out about as many Indian schools of panting as you can. Write a short note on the distinctive features of each school.

Various Indian schools of painting are listed below.

• Bengal school of art;

• Patna Qalaam (or, Patna school of painting);

• Madhubani paintings

• Mysore painting

• Patta chitra

• Rajput painting

• Rajasthani painting; etc

Distinctive features of different schools of painting are given below.

• Madhubani painting: It is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar state. They have two-dimensional imagery and the colours used are derived from plants.

• Rajasthani paintings: As Hindu-rulers of Rajputana maintained close political and social links to the Mughal court, one can observe strong Mughal influence paintings here. Influenced by the surroundings, miniature paintings have their own unique style; hills and valleys, court assemblies and hunting expeditions, religious festivals, processions and scenes from the life of Lord Krishna–a widely devoted Hindu God in India.

• Pattachitra paintings: “Patta” literally means “cloth” and “Chitra” means “picture” in Sanskrit. The pattachitra painting tradition is closely linked with the worship of Lord Jagannath. Stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and of Radha and Krishna are the other main themes.

• Mysore paintings: It is an important form of classical South Indian painting that originated in the town of Mysore in Karnataka. The themes for most of these paintings are Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology.