Arts & Crafts

Patna Qalam and Mithila paintings are two of the most popular crafts of Bihar. With the decline of the Mughals, the Delhi artists migrated to Murshidabad. This Bengal village did not keep the artists for long and they then thought of Bihar. Some of them came over to Patna and practiced their craft following a style that gradually came to be known as the Patna Qalam. The Patna Qalam paintings depict the day-to-day life of the people of Bihar. The style is famous for its soft colors and the use of hand made paper or mica sheets.

The Mithila paintings are line paintings. These line paintings in primary colors normally depict village scenes, human and animal forms, gods and goddesses. A kind of artistic emotion can be observed in these paintings.

Bhagalpur is famous for its silk industry all over the world and is considered to be one of the best silk producing centres in India. Other crafts of Bihar include Sujni embroidery, lac bangle making, and creation of decorative and utility items of Seenki (local dried grass).

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