Important Facts for Prelims (25 August 2018) | 25 Aug 2018

Recently the Bihar Sampark Kranti Express has been painted with Madhubani Art.
Practised in Bihar and Nepal, Madhubani painting is one of the oldest and most famous Indian art forms. It is also known as Mithila or Madhubani art.
The style of this painting includes geometrical patterns.
The colours used in Madhubani paintings comprise natural extracts from plants and other natural sources. E.g.: Black colour is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung; blue from indigo; white from rice powder; orange from palasha flowers, etc.
The colours are applied flat with no shading and no empty space is left.
The colours are usually dark and bright with pigments like lampblack and ochre.
These paintings are not made with modern brushes but rather with twigs, matchsticks, and fingers.
Traces of Madhubani art can also be noticed in the Ramayana, the Indian epic. It is based on the themes which depict the life of Hindu deities like Krishna, Rama, Lakshmi, Shiva, Durga, and Saraswati.
The themes & designs widely painted are of Hindu deities such as Krishna, Rama, Siva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Sun and Moon, Tulasi plant, court scenes, wedding scenes, social happenings etc.
Also, heavenly bodies like the Sun and the Moon often form the centrepiece of Madhubani paintings.
This style of painting has been traditionally done by the women of the region, though today men are also involved to meet the demand.
Few prominent artists are Karpuri Devi, Mahalaxmi and Dulari.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific Trash Vortex, spans waters from the West Coast of North America to Japan. It is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean.
Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water.
GPGP is almost entirely made up of tiny bits of plastic, called microplastics which are non-biodegradable and harmful for marine life and human beings as well.