RAS question
The 'Pabuji ki Phad' painting uses which color background?
Correct answer: (B) Red/Orange.
Pabuji ki Phad is traditionally painted on a red or orange background, unlike Devnarayan ki Phad, which uses a green background.
Explanation
Pabuji ki Phad belongs to Rajasthan's phad painting tradition, in which painted scrolls carry the visual narrative of a folk epic. World Oral Literature Project, University of Cambridge, The Epic of Pabuji ki par in performance describes Pabuji ki par as 'Pabuji of the painted scroll' and states that the phad is a red textile on which the main characters, castles, animals, horsemen and battle scenes are depicted. This supports the exam distinction: Pabuji ki Phad is associated with a red or orange background, while Devnarayan ki Phad is associated with a green one. The Joshi community from Shahpura in Bhilwara paints these scrolls, so the colour cue is part of a wider Rajasthani folk-art tradition rather than an isolated fact.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Blue is wrong because the traditional Pabuji phad background is red or orange, not blue.
- (C) Yellow is wrong because it is not the background colour identified for Pabuji ki Phad in this tradition.
- (D) Green is wrong for Pabuji ki Phad because green is associated with Devnarayan ki Phad instead.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan art and culture, especially the visual markers of phad painting traditions. It recurs in RAS because questions often distinguish closely related folk traditions through one concrete identifier such as colour, community or place.