[1][2] It comprises certain parts of Bihar and Jharkhand of India[3] and adjoining districts of the eastern Terai of Nepal.
[6] The music was generally based on the daily life of a common man which made it relatable to the audience and hence accepted on mass.
Some significant contributors to this music style are Maha Kavi Vidyapati Thakur, Udit Narayan Jha, Sharda Sinha,[7] Kunj Bihari Mishra, Haridwar Prasad Khandelwal, Dr. Shanti Jain, Rajni Pallavi, Poonam Mishra, Ranjana Jha, Moni 'Vaidehi' and many more.
It is the folksong of Bhilini, one of the many Maithili Music classics, that influenced Gautam, the Buddha, to draw the essence of his all-time great philosophy -Madhyama marg.
[9] The Maithili region lies in part of North India and Nepal which is wet and lush green as it is covered with bamboo structures, paddy fields and ponds .
Maithili women, located in south-eastern Nepal, are pitted against one another in their pursuit of security and resources in the context of patrilineal formations.
As a result, the lyrics include a lot of references of objects, gods, seasons and surrounding area of Maithili.
Songs whose themes are based around the rainy or the monsoon season are associated with farmers praying to the gods for favourable climate to cultivate.
There are many themes relating to good harvest because agriculture was one of the main occupations in the past as well in the present.
In the Maithili region of Nepal the use of pond signifies and refers to a woman's perspective and knowledge of worldly matters .
Women start singing Sahara songs (Maithili music based on woman's dependence during labour) on the sixth day of the birth of a baby to please and express thanks to Mother Goddess Sastika.
The agricultural songs are mainly sung by farmers where they pray and hope for good harvest at the end of the year.
Several songs are sung during the celebration of the festivals of Ramnavami, Batsavitri, Nagapanchami, Madhushrabani, Kojegra, Samachakeba, Bhardutia and many more.
The basic theme of these songs is of frustration or disappointment in love often caused to the absence of a husband or a lover and farmers praying for monsoon to arrive.
For example, Bhajan and Kirtan is played to pray to God Shiva, Vishnu, Ganaga and Shakti, Gosaunik-git and Bhagabati-git are sung in praise of family deities, however the mendicant's songs are played for the beggars and helpless people and the texts express the disability, helplesness and distress of the singer.
The is generally based on one's own intuition and gains popularity as it has been accepted by the modern era as those who want to learn song usually chooses the one melismatic style of melody.
Jog is very similar to athongar in the sense of its free spirited, intuitional based and melismatic natured songs.
The genre has many mentions and references to the problems faced by god Ram and goddess Sita during their marriage (Ramayana).