International Journal of Humanities & Social Science: Insights & Transformations Vol. 2, Issue 1 - 2017 © Eureka Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved. www.eurekajournals.com RAJASTHAN’S RICH CULTURAL TRADITIONS OF FOLK PAINTINGS AVINASH PAREEK * INTRODUCTION Rajasthan has the rich traditions of practicing folk paintings since time immemorial. These paintings are as diverse as its culture. The folk paintings in Rajasthan are purely handmade. They bring to the forefront the talent of the Rajasthani painters. The folk paintings of Rajasthan deal with pictorial depictions of popular gods, goddesses, human portraits, common customs and rituals, and the elements related to nature. Some of the folk paintings of Rajasthan such as Sanjhya, Phad painting, and miniature painting are popular all over the world. Folk arts were once the integral part of the common folk’s life and they expressed the aesthetic and entertainment aspect of the rural folk. ART: ITS ORIGIN Art is the manifestation of creativity. This is quite clear from the words of Umrao Singh ‘The art has originated from the sense of aesthetics that has led man towards the creativity. Consequently the culture was nurtured.’ 1 Thus folk paintings can enable a person to be familiar with the cultural aspect. ‘Art is the soul of any culture.’ 2 Besides, they were also the manifestation of social, religious, economic life of the common folk. The folk paintings of Rajasthan have the bearing on the whole Indian folk art, to say the least. ‘The folk art of Rajasthan is capable of giving a lead to the whole Indian folk art.’ 3 The folk paintings of Rajasthan have a wide range of variety to offer. ‘The range of topics in Rajasthan available in the form of paintings is so vast that these paintings present a whole world covering city, forest, creature, huts, palaces, forts, wars, vegetation, festival, women, sex, meeting, parting, separation etc. ’4 TRADITION OF FOLK PAINTINGS The folk paintings are viewed ‘sacred’ and as such * Dean, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, IASE (D) University, GVM, SardarShahr (Raj.) E-mail Id: avinash.pareek12@gmail.com