In an ancient country like India art and culture spread from the forests, cottages and villages to towns. The fountain-springs of deep thought and emotion were found in the hearts of the Rishis who lived a quiet and peaceful life in rural surroundings. Monumental poetical works like the Ramayana and the Mahabharat were not composed by University professors and ‘learned poets’; the immortal fresco paintings of Ajanta were not the creations of the Directors of Art Galleries. In their genuine joy of creation, the saint-painters did not even care to leave any traces of their names for posterity. They did not discuss the fine theories of ‘Art for Art’s sake’ or ‘Art for life’s sake’; to them life itself was the greatest art.
