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| Tuesday, 3 August 2004 |
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Cherial paintings of Andhra Pradesh by Chitra Balasubramaniam, Long before audio visuals in the form of cinema and television became popular, another form of entertainment which combined the audio and visual mediums was the genre of scroll paintings. The scroll paintings were carried by bards from village to village, who used it as visual aids to the folklores sung by them.
Today this form of entertainment is popular in remote villages or can be seen at stage performances at various craft centres or museums. These artists and their work can be seen cross the country; these include the Phad painters of Rajasthan who sketch the paintings for the Bhopas to carry with them, the Chitrakathi paintings of Maharashtra, the Patta and Patuas of Bengal and the lesser known Telengana scrolls - Cherial paintings. Cherial painting derives its name from the area where it is made, Cherial, in the Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. As opposed to the more popular traditional Kalamkari paintings of this state, which are made of a combination of earthy colours, these paintings stand out for their rendition in sharp colours. So as against the subdued look at the former, these paintings are folkish, vibrant and alive. The paintings are made by craftsmen called Nakasbis, who often use the surname of Nakash. These craftsmen also specialise in making sawdust masks and dolls. The scrolls painted by them can at times run into several meters depending on the story to be portrayed. The scroll flows more like a film roll. The scroll comprises a series of panels. Each panel is a depiction of a portion of the story. The first panel drawn is usually of Lord Ganesha. This is because most stage performances, folk theatre or puppet performances begin with an invocation to Lord Ganesha. Similarly, when the narrative performance using the scrolls as visual aid begins, Lord Ganesha is invoked at the beginning with the first panel. After this the story to be told is painted. A story is broken up into small portions and each portion is depicted as a separate panel. Each panel carries a portion of the story. When the bard sings the song, the accompanying panel is held up; as he moves on to the next part of the story the next panel is held up. The stories are predominantly from India's vast repertoire of mythology. Stories from the great epics of Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranic tales, local folk stories and those depicting everyday village life are drawn. When scrolls of the Ramayana or Mahabharata are drawn, the entire epic is never drawn in one scroll; instead short stories from the epics are drawn in a scroll. The scrolls are drawn from top to bottom. Some scrolls are so huge that they are painted in 40 or 50 parts. The scrolls of an approximate three feet width could go upto 30 or 40 odd feet in length and it could be made up of 40 or 50 panels. At times one horizontal panel may be divided into a couple of smaller panels. The demarcation in this case could be with pillars or just ornamental lines. A scroll when not in use is usually rolled and kept. The making of the scroll is also a process in itself. Several pieces of cloth are layered together and coated with a paste of lime. When the cloth is wet it is rubbed with a stone to get it to a leathery paper mode. The cloth now feels more like an indigenous canvas. This is then drawn on with pens using vegetable colours. The making of the scroll has found mention in Shilpashastras. Four stages of cloth painting are mentioned; first, fabric is washed, then burnished smooth, the figures are drawn, and finally it is filled with colours. Today, however, many scrolls - especially the long ones - are made of paper using chemical colours. Even though it is called a folk art, its drawing is equally intricate and time consuming. It requires a great deal of skill and precision as all figures have to be drawn with care to be of the same scale and size. Also in a big scroll, a large number of figures have to be drawn. So maintaining the same style, look and size throughout a scroll consisting of some 40 or 50 panels at a time calls for a high degree of workmanship. The skill of the painter stands out in his ability to draw these figures free hand from memory, without referring to a copy. What gives it the folkish touch is the manner in which the figures are drawn. The figures have huge eyes which stand out, the ears, nose are exaggerated in appearance. The depiction of men and women is again more like animated characters. The drawings of characters are made looking sideways, giving them a profile like depiction. The colours are bold and vibrant, adding to the folk touch. The background of the painting is invariably in bright shades of red or orange. There is a liberal use of yellows, royal blue, light blue, green, white and black. The elephant is often drawn in blue colour like the famed Ambari elephant of the well known Kondappally toys. In many cases, the figures bear a resemblance to the leather shadow puppets (tholu bomalata) of this state. The colours, costumes, characters also draw heavily from the local lifestyles, customs and traditions. For example, local village scenes show men climbing palm trees to bring down pots tied for tapping palm trees. The men have pots tied to their waist, their collection from earlier climbs. The three trunks are again drawn in a deep shade of blue. The paintings are also much popular as wallhangings, thus ensuring that the art remains alive for a longtime to come. (Courtesy: India Perspective) |
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These itinerant artists captivated audiences by their lively rendition
of these stories with equally colourful and eye-catching visuals. Thus
existed a very charming tradition of combining a singing rendition of
stories with beautifully illustrated accompanying pictures - a tradition
that is still alive in India.
