Janapada Loka: A Picnic For Art Lovers:

The Janapada Loka or the folk museum is situated 53 kms from Bangalore on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. It is a mere 3 kms from Ramanagaram.

This little known museum, devoted to covering Karnataka’s diverse folk life, is situated on 15 acres of land. The entire

area is covered with trees. As a result even though there is much ground to be covered, all the paths leading to the different buildings are shady.
   
The artefacts are housed in three little buildings by the names of Lokamahal, Lokamatha Mandira and Chitrakuteera.
    
The Lokamahal is the most comprehensive. It houses a number of interesting folk puppets, utensils, instruments, weapons and masks. While a variety of utensils, baskets, earthen jars used to store grain and pickles are displayed in the Lokamatha Mandira, the Chitrakuteera has a number of photographs covering different aspects of folk life.
      

Exquisite Chariot:

One of the highlights is a huge exquisitely carved temple chariot, which was extensively damaged in a fire. Besides this there are ancient carvings made from different types of stone.

The museum has a wonderful amphitheatre. There is also a recording studio with state of the art equipment.  A college on folk life is also situated on the premises of the museum.
   

Boating:

    
Most exciting for kids is the fact that there is a small lake at the rear end of the museum where there is a pedal boat. The lake is used to show how water is drawn from it. The vast open land and plenty of trees all around make it an ideal outing for kids and grown-ups alike. The entry fee is Rs. 4 for adults and Rs. 2 for children. The museum is open Wednesday to Monday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
     
Adjacent to the museum is a Kamat Yatrinivas. So you don’t have to worry about taking food along with you. Tasty Indian food is served here and there’s plenty of delicious sugarcane juice to beat the heat.