RAS question
Phad painting is a folk art of which region?
Correct answer: (A) Mewar (Bhilwara/Shahpura).
Phad painting is a folk scroll-painting tradition of Shahpura near Bhilwara in the Mewar region of Rajasthan.
Explanation
Phad painting belongs to Shahpura near Bhilwara, so the Mewar option is the precise regional match. Rajasthan Tourism describes Phad as an ancient scroll-painting art that survives in Rajasthan, usually made on a long rectangular cloth. Its narrative core is also the clue: the paintings illustrate the life and heroic exploits of Pabuji and Devnarayan, the folk heroes named here. Rajasthan Tourism also identifies the traditional painter community: Phads are painted by the Joshis of Shahpura near Bhilwara. That combination of place, format, subjects and hereditary artists fixes the answer as Mewar (Bhilwara/Shahpura), not a broader or unrelated painting zone.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Marwar (Jodhpur) does not match Rajasthan Tourism's location of Phad painting with the Joshis of Shahpura near Bhilwara.
- (C) Shekhawati (Sikar) is associated in the question data with haveli paintings, while Phad is identified with Shahpura near Bhilwara.
- (D) Hadoti (Kota) has a different regional style in the question data, and the Phad tradition is tied to Shahpura near Bhilwara.
Concept
This tests the Rajasthan art-and-culture mapping of folk art forms to their regions, patrons and communities. RAS repeats such items because they connect visual traditions with local geography and folk-deity traditions.