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The paintings on walls have deeper themes, also narratives in series of panels. Apart from their decorative purpose, they also constitute a form of visual education like picture books from which one learns of one's heritage.

Wall paintings in Punjab, outer Delhi and Rajasthan are usually made at festivals and special occasions like marriages.

Folk paintings in Rajasthan attained a high standard and artists won great fame in this art. The themes are from epics and heroic Rajput tales. In the Kumaon, the usual wall pictures are known as bar-boond (dash and dot). The pattern is done by first putting down a number of dots to make the outline of the design, then joining them together by lines in different colors. This calls for intense concentration and immense patience, for an error in a single dot or dash can upset the entire composition. Each pattern is known by the number of dots used. One is known as mash-bar-mat design, a composition of ten dots and the colors used are yellow, violet and green. There are all-over designs of roses and jasmines covering the entire wall.

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