Madhubani painting, also known as Mithila painting, is rich in art symbolism with a rare simplicity and beauty. Associated with Sita's home in Mithila (Bihar), stories of Ramayana are central to this form of painting. The Krishna lore with its inescapable romance has left its marks as well. Activities of life, ornate floral and geometric patterns, with inevitable Hindu icons forms, its distinctive style.

Manisha Jha is an eminent artist carrying forward the tradition of Madhubani paintingand who perhaps is the first Mithila artist who can be considered a mainstream contemporary artist.
Ms.Jha's art lies at an interesting overlapping of folk and contemporary art in India, and is particularly interesting because of the personal pictorial language she has developed using her urban status and architectural profession, while also using it to voice her women-centric concerns. Ms.Jha started painting at a young age after watching her grandmother Phoolmaya Devi, mother Manju Jha and other women in the small town of Raghopur, Saharsa district, north Bihar. Ms.Jha's first exhibition was in 1998. In the same year she exhibited her works in Goa and Gujarat and from then on, started a full-fledged artistic career along with her architectural practice. Along with her sisters Puja and Bandana, she has been organising workshops throughout the country to introduce people from all walks of life to different aspects of Madhubani paintings. She established the Madhubani Art Centre in2003, and also started a free school for women at Bhojpandaul village in Bihar which was attended by more than 500 people. She has received various awards, including the prestigious State award from the Government of Delhi in 2008 and the Kala-Bharti award from the Bihar Sanshriti Mandal, Baroda, in 1999. (As quoted in "Here's a chance to admire contemporary Madhubani art," The Hindu, 18 March 2010, online)