Book excerpt: Indian Folk and Tribal Paintings introduces you to one of India s most glorious living traditions its tribal and folk painting. Vibrant and full of colour, it is said of tribal and folk painting that it has no beginning and no end. The rich red earth of river deltas, the fine white paste of crushed rice, the juice of fruits and berries, the wine from the mahua tree, the milk and even the dung, continue to provide the artist in the forest and village with his raw materials, while the floors and walls of his dwelling places, the bark of trees, leaves and, latterly, paper, are his surfaces. Whatever the surface or the medium, these paintings are intrinsically linked with the regional historico-cultural settings from which they arise.