Janapada Loka
Janapada Loka (), is a folk museum that has an exclusive display of the village folk arts of Karnataka. It is under the aegis of the Karnataka Janapada Parishat. Loka Mahal, a wing in the museum has a display of 5,000 folk artifacts. It is situated in Ramanagara, Ramanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka, on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, to the south of Bangalore. H. L. Nagegowda, an Indian civil servant and folklorist, thought of creating a museum to exhibit the varied folk art and culture of Karnataka. Accordingly Karnataka Janapada Parishat (Janapada Academy) was first established on 21 March 1979. Gowda and his friends continued collecting antiques for this institution for the next three decades. The current museum land in Bangalore-Mysore highway was bought on 12 March 1994. Janapada Loka is divided into separate wings — Folk arts museum, Loka Mahal, Chitra Kuteera, Doddamane, Shilamala, Arghyamala etc. The museum has a collection of 5,000 folk artefacts. History The concept of establishing a museum to exhibit the rich folk art and culture of Karnataka was the brain-child of H. L. Nage Gowda, a civil-servant by profession and also a folklorist, who, after retirement, made it his lifetime goal. An institution called the Karnataka Janapada Parishat (Janapada Academy) was first established on 21 March 1979 with the objective to promote, conserve, propagate and document Folk traditions of Karnataka. Under the aegis of this institution, Janapada Loka came to be established. Following his retirement from Government service, Gowda generated financial resources by way of contributions from friends supplemented by his retirement benefits to create a core fund with which he purchased land of on the Bangalore-Mysore Highway and established the Janapada Loka, a "folk cosmos" on 12 March 1994, creating a village ambiance with lush green vegetation. Creation of this museum involved a cost of . The museum has folk lore antique exhibits collected by Gowda and his friends over a period of three decades. Collections Janapada Loka is established on a campus, where "rural milieus from Karnataka" have been recreated. It also houses a plethora of rural artifacts which bring out the theme of "folk literature, music, dance, festivals, sculpture and lifestyle". The museum provides an opportunity for rural artisans, musicians and craftspeople to showcase their art and provides a platform for marketing these works of art. Books, DVDs and CDs relating to folk arts are also sold at the Information Center. Entrance The entry gate to the museum gives an impressive greeting to the visitors. It has brass trumpets on the two pillars of the gate hoisted with "Harige" and Nandidwajas (flags of Nandi). The front face of the gate's leaves have images of Shiva and Vishnu embossed on them, which are cult figures of worship. The gate leads to the Lok Mata Mandira, which is the information centre of the museum. There is a flock of pet swans roaming around here. Folk arts museum The main area of interest in the Janapada Loka is the folk arts museum,