Janakpur, Nepal

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and where Rama was married.

Maithili is still spoken by sections of the population in both the Tarai and the adjacent Indian state of Bihar. Maithili women also keep up their traditional folk art, principally in the form of elaborate paintings on the mud walls of the houses and courtyard floors. Recently they have started to paint on paper.

The town is centered around the large Janaki Temple adjoining which, to the south and east, lies an area of narrow, bazaar-filled streets where traditional merchandise is traded (in the more southerly part especially). The Ram Mandir, a temple in the Nepalese pagoda style, is located there too.