VILLAGE LIFE 4 (2022) Painting by D Pavan

Cheriyal is a small village in Warangal district of Telangana state. As other forms of folk paintings like pattachitra, warli and phad paintings, Cheriyal painting of the Deccan has also been classified as a form of painting for storytelling and to entertain the audience along which it carries the rich cultural history and heritage with it. Cheriyal paintings are stylized form of nakashi art that are believed to be brought from Mughal emperors to south along with them. As these paintings are called as one of the most important scroll paintings, it suggests that it is made on a long vertical piece of cloth in a narrative form and more like modern world’s comic strip or film roll. These paintings are prevalent across the region and generally depict the scenes from Indian mythological epics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Garuda purana, Krishna leela, Markandeya purana etc.

The artisan who does these paintings belongs to Chitrakara community. Interestingly in this old age form of storytelling method, a painter, narrator and listeners are from different community and are strictly bound to their professions. A narrator gives the order to a painter to deliver the scroll according to the folktale he narrates it, which in turn it also depends on the people’s demand from the nearby regions. Generally in olden time the story teller used to carry the necessary piece of cloth from which the scroll has to be made and that would vary from anywhere between three feet to sixty feet in height. The cloth is prepared specially for this painting by using some elements like white mud, rice starch, tamarind seeds and natural tree gum. The mixture of these is applied in 3 layers, which acts as a thick canvas to paint upon. This process preserves the cloth and the painting done on it and lasts for hundreds of years.

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Cheriyal PaintingIndian Folk ArtIndian Tribal ArtTribal ArtFolk Art