Epic Tales on Scrolls: Exploring the Mystique of Phad Art

While recent times have brought a lot of notice to the Indian art scene as a collective force, it has also facilitated some attention towards indies very own folk styles of paintings. Phad paintings originating in Shahpur in Rajasthan happen to be one of those. It is now not only seen as a beautiful and culturally rich art form; a lot of praises are also given to it for becoming a representative of a beautiful but lesser-known tradition that has existed in Rajasthan. Being several hundred years old legacy passed down over generations within a single family, it continues to fascinate people. 

History 

Phad is a kind of scroll painting that tells detailed religious tales about regional gods and deities. Originally intended to serve as mobile temples, these traditional paintings were carried by Bhopas and Bhopis. They were the priest-singers of the Rabari tribe in Rajasthan, who would sing and act out tales of their local deities as means of devotion and appreciation. While the male priest (Bhopa) would sing and narrate the story depicted in the Phad painting, his wife (Bhopi) would accompany through song and dance, while also putting a spotlight on the corresponding section in the painting, using a lamp. 

These deities were Pabuji who was a local hero and Devnarayanji who was a reincarnation of Hindu lord Vishnu. The performance in front of the villagers would continue into the night when the Phad artwork was unrolled, or unfolded, after sunset and this explains why the paintings are referred to as “Phad,” which in the local dialect means “fold.”

The Bhopas treat the Phad with the highest respect from the moment it is painted by the most renowned artists of this genre. They offer sacrifices to the Phad each day. It is handed down to a member of their family to carry on the custom since it is seen as a hereditary possession. A systematic religious process is carried out for disassembling the Phad when it becomes threadbare, damaged, or worn out.

Themes 

Devnarayan ji ki phad

Because Devnarayan is viewed as a manifestation of the Hindu deity Vishnu, his tales are frequently shown in the Phad paintings as well. A variety of activities, including as warfare, hunting, and Sati burning, are connected to the Main scenes that are portrayed. The characters are distinguished by the colours of their attire, horses, and weaponry. The figures’ faces are typically rigid. The padhs composition might be curved, vertical, or horizontal. Hindu deities including Rama, Krishna, and Narsimha are also depicted on the Devnarayan ki phad. The primary bearers of the myths and adherents are horses and elephants. Although they have a place in the Par, trees and flowers are occasionally utilized only as fillers.

The court of Pabuji

The Phad also called the Par often times represented the court of Pabuji whom the locals saw as a historical true Rajput chief who had sacrificed his life for protection of other folks, his palace, and his divine character as an incarnation of Lakshmana who was the brother of Rama in the Hindu epic of Ramayana. The background of such narrations is invariably in the desert villages of Rajasthan because the paintings were approached realistically. 

Realistic representation of life

While the paintings are undebatably about certain dieties, it is noticed that the background often consists of elements that often appear in these paintings. The women and the men, who are the village folks are drawn in similar ways. The clothes and jewellery they wear and the ways that they are drawn overlap and provide what seems to be a very natural culture that inhabited the areas where these paintings were drawn. There are also cattle and natural elements like the trees and animals that exist in the backdrop of these phad paintings.

Process

As mentioned before about the Phad art, it was only members of the one family, belonging to the Chipa caste, that created these paintings. The Bhopas or the priests would commission the members of this particular to make a Phad to use in their performances traditionally. Though it varied according to the skills of the artisans, these paintings on an average required a few weeks to be completed because of how much focus they gave to the details of the story being told through the paintings.

The coarse cotton fabric used to produce phad’s paintings is hand-woven and soaked for a full night to strengthen the threads. After that, it is stretched, dried in the sun, set with starch made from rice or wheat flour, and then rubbed with a moonstone to smooth and shine the surface. A Phad artwork is made entirely of natural materials, including natural fibres and paints made from flowers, plants, stones, and herbs. The artists create the paints themselves, mixing them with water and gum before applying them on fabric.

Colours 

If you were to simply search up the name of phad paintings, you will come across possibly one the most vibrant paintings style you have ever seen. It is very easy to notice the pattern of usage of colours throughout these paintings. Typical colours seen in a Phad painting are yellow, orange, green, brown, red, blue, and black. Each of these colours is used for specific purposes. the yellow helps creating the initial outline and is also used in the ornaments and clothing, orange is saved for limbs of the figures. Green as usual is employed for the trees and vegetation, brown for architectural structures and red is for royal clothing and flags as well as a thick border which makes it the colour that seems to occupy the most amount of space in these paintings. The blue used here is most often used to show water and black is applied at the end as outlines of the figures in the paintings.

Conclusion

The Rajasthani Phad paintings hence can be seen as a unique blend of art, storytelling, and devotion, and it narrates how this combination is one that is invaluable in the heritage of Indian culture. Traditionally rendered on long pieces of cloth with natural dyes and vibrant colours, they are both visually captivating and spiritually significant. Phad paintings exemplify the harmonious marriage of art and performance, as they are used by storytellers to recite epic tales in villages, fostering community connections. This timeless art form continues to inspire, serving as a window into Rajasthan’s rich cultural and spiritual history.