10 Aspects of Cheriyal Paintings
(Image Source: Google Arts & Culture)
Have you heard about Cheriyal Paintings? If you are an Indian folk art aficionado, you might have; but most of us, unfortunately, do not know much about the art form. In this blog, let’s try learning ten aspects of this Cheriyal painting tradition.
1. What are Cheriyal Paintings?
Cheriyal paintings are long narrative scroll paintings that serve as visual aids to a musical storytelling tradition. A conventional Cheriyal scroll is vertical and is divided into different frames, with each frame depicting a scene from the tale that is being presented. Since these scrolls are meant to be rolled when not in use, they are made with fabric. Traditionally, a khadi cloth is used as the base for these paintings.
2. Where do they come from?
The name that the art form is known by today, i.e., Cheriyal, is derived from the town it is currently practised in. Cheriyal is a town in the Siddipet district of Telangana, India. The practice of the art form is much more limited than it was previously. Initially, these paintings were known as nakash or naqash, which translates to a drawing or a sketch.
3. Who are the people who are associated with these scrolls?
In addition to the previous aspect, the people involved in the creation of these traditional nakash or Cheriyal paintings, are a community known as the Nakashis. Other than this community, there is another important group of individuals associated with this tradition. It is important to note that the actual purpose of these scrolls was to serve as visual aids when a storyteller narrated a particular folklore or mythological story in the form of a song. This community of balladeers is referred to as kaki padagollu. They travel from village to village narrating these stories.
(Image Source: Deccan Chronicle)
4. How old is the Cheriyal painting tradition?
As mentioned before, Cheriyal paintings were originally called nakash. Research suggests that these initial pieces were a little different from the ones created today, and are a result of cultural amalgamation. It is believed that the art form and technique of nakash came into the Indian subcontinent from Persia during the reign of the Mughals around the 16th century CE. Hence, making the Cheriyal painting tradition around 400 years old.
5. What themes do these paintings usually revolve around?
The most prominent themes that are featured in Cheriyal paintings are the stories from Hindu epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and also the Puranas. For example, below is an example of a Cheriyal painting depicting the stories from the life of the Hindu deity Krishna.
(Image Souce: International Indian Folk Art Gallery)
Other than these religious and mythological tales, these paintings also depict the social life, cultural practices, and festivities of the local communities. In the Cheriyal painting below, instances from day-to-day life in a rural setting are portrayed.
(Image Source: Google Art & Culture)
6. What are commonly noticed motifs and patterns in Cheriyal paintings?
Since religious tales are a popular theme in these scrolls, Hindu religious iconography is one of the most visible motifs in this art form. Moreover, flora and fauna are commonly painted on these scrolls too. Other than these, brightly coloured borders — both, at the edges of the scroll and in between the frames — with floral patterns are one of the most identifiable features of Cheriyal paintings. A bright red background too is a given in almost all Cheriyal works.
7. What paints are used in these paintings?
Like all traditional folk art forms, Cheriyal paintings too use only naturally sourced colours. Most of the pigments used in these paintings are mineral based, i.e., they are obtained from coloured stones. These stones are crushed into a fine powder and mixed with a natural binder and water. The natural binder used is gum arabic, locally called tirumani gond. This mixture is prepared with extreme attentiveness to make paint that is of the right saturation and has the ability to stick to the cloth base.
(Image Source: D’source)
8. What tools are used by Cheriyal artists to make these paintings?
Paintbrushes are the only tools which are used by Cheriyal artists to draw, paint, and add details to their artworks. Traditionally, these paintbrushes were made using squirrel hair because of how fine the artists could paint with them. However, today this practice has been replaced by market-available synthetic brushes.
9. New adaptations? New trends?
With changing times, the popularity of Cheriyal scrolls and the accompanying musical narrative tradition faced a decline. To sustain themselves, these artists have adapted themselves to the changing needs and tastes. Today, the size of these scrolls has been minimised and the number of frames per painting has been decreased too. This is because these paintings are now used more as decorative pieces in households, rather than as storytelling aids.
(Image Source: Centre of International Modern Art)
Another innovation of the Cheriyral artists is also the minimising of the Cheriyal masks. Originally, these masks were worn by the storytellers to give their audiences a more vivid experience. But as mentioned before, the decline in the associated storytelling tradition led to a decline in the demand. Today, these mini Cheriyal masks serve as decorative items.
(Image Source: Kaisori)
Some Cheriyal artists also experiment with newer subjects and depict contemporary issues.
(Image Source: Media India Group)
10. Where can you learn this art form?
Now, if you really got interested in these Cheriyal paintings, we encourage you to check out Rooftop! This online platform provides daily workshops on different traditional art forms from India, and Cheriyal painting workshops do come up every now and then. Rooftop also has Maestro Courses, where authentic folk artists give lessons to anyone interested. Cheriyal art form is one of the upcoming courses there!
You can also check out our Instagram or download the Rooftop App from GooglePlay or AppStore.
