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Mithila is also called Madhubani Painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar and in the towns of Madhubani and Darbanga. The painting was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts. It is done with a broomstick and colours extracted from leaves and flowers. The main themes are religious (Gods and Goddesses), nature (birds, animals, forest) and Social (day to day life). During festivals and celebrations, women decorate their homes by drawing distinct patterns on the walls, ceilings and floors of their homes. This region has been exposed to many religious influences, thus Buddhist and tantric imprints on local motifs are visible. It was in the sixties, due to natural calamities, that the idea occurred to transpose the art onto paper, so that the paintings could be taken to other states and sold to collect Relief funds. The beauty of Mithila Art lies in its painstaking detail. The painting is done on handmade paper which has been rubbed with cloth dipped in a mixture of water and the residue obtained from sieving cow-dung. The paper is then left to dry which makes it firm as well as free from insects. The brush used is a cotton-tipped broomstick dipped in colour pastes obtained from natural sources like the leaves of beans and mango tree, grass, 'parijat' flowers soaked in water, mehndi mixed with water of cow dung, skin of pomegranates and oranges. Traditionally the colours were obtained from flowers which were discarded from temples and pooja homes. The resin which is collected from the mango, neem or babul tree is mixed with water and added to the natural extract to make the colours thick. The resin also makes the colours fast and gives them a shine. There are different designs for various occasions and festivals, e.g. birth, marriage, holi, suryashashti, kali puja, durga puja, etc. Apart from their decorative purpose, they also constitute a form of visual education from which we learn of our heritage.