Janapada Loka

Janapada Loka

Veeragase artist's mannequin on display in the
Janapada Loka (India)
Janapada Loka (Karnataka)
Formation	12 March 1994; 30 years ago (1994-03-12)
Founder	H. L. Nage Gowda
Type	NGO
Legal status	Foundation
Purpose	Folk Art & Traditions
Location	Ramanagara
Coordinates	12°42′5″N 77°15′4″E / 12.70139°N 77.25111°E / 12.70139; 77.25111
Region served	Karnataka
Chairman	Prof H C Ramachandra Gowda
Managing trustee	Mr Aditya Nanjaraj
Secretary	N A
Parent organization	Karnataka Janapada Parishat
Website	www.janapadaloka.in

Janapada Loka (lit. 'Folklore world or Folk-culture World'), 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.^[1][2][3] Loka Mahal, a wing in the museum has a display of 5,000 folk artifacts.^[4] It is situated in Ramanagara, Ramanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka, on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, 53 kilometres (33 mi) to the south of Bangalore.^[5][6]

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.