The Pahari Schools of Painting grew in the hill towns of the western Himalayas. At which town did the Pahari School of Painting begin, with a coarsely flamboyant style?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Basohli
Option (1) Guler — Incorrect. Guler marks the pre-Kangra phase, the middle stage that came after Basohli.
Option (2) Kangra — Incorrect. Kangra is where the style finally blossomed into its most exquisite and sophisticated form.
Option (3) Basohli — Correct. Pahari painting began at Basohli, with a coarsely flamboyant style.
Option (4) Chamba — Incorrect. Chamba is one of the later hill centres. Artist ateliers from Basohli spread to Chamba and gave rise to local variations.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Pahari Schools of Painting Pahari denotes ‘hilly or mountainous’ in origin. Pahari Schools of Painting includes towns, such as Basohli, Guler, Kangra, Kullu, Chamba, Mankot, Nurpur, Mandi, Bilaspur, Jammu and others in the hills of western Himalayas, which emerged as centres of painting from seventeenth to nineteenth century. Beginning at Basohli with a coarsely flamboyant style, it blossomed into the most exquisite and sophisticated style of Indian painting known as the Kangra School, through the Guler or pre-Kangra phase.” |