Phad Folk Art

Group members:
Avani
Diya
Vetan
Dilshan
Oum
Priyanka
Samarth M.
What is Phad
Phad / Par is centuries old
picture story telling tradition
from the desert state of
Rajasthan

It illustrates a panoply of
characters and scenes from
medieval Rajasthan.
Often use
Movies and theatre did not
exist at that time. So these
paintings were created as a
backdrop for storytelling
sessions and performances.
The storytellers would travel
from village to village and
narrate the stories using Phads
as their pictorial depiction tool.
Singing and dancing made an
integral part of storytelling.
Culture & tradition
Phad painting was typically painted on scrolls ( long piece of cloth), Which was
used as a mobile temple carried by priests

It narrated religious stories

of
The local deities
Phad - meaning to fold ( in local dialect)

This folk art derives its name from from the tradition, wherein the cloth was
unfolded only after sunset with performances in front of the villagers throughout
the night

Performance being carried out infront of Phad

Teachings of this folk art has been passed down from generations, but mostly
maintained within the ‘Joshi’ family

Males of Joshi family were taught the art, whereas the daughters were not to keep
the art within the family

In the olden days, the first brush stroke was made by a virgin girl from the artist’s
family, following which the painter divided the canvas into various sections,
according to the parts of the story being depicted

daughters-in-law who became part of the family were taught this art
The Bhopas
These Bhopas live simple lives and their homes are usually mud homes which
often get damaged or washed out during rains. Their nomadic lifestyle and harsh
conditions of locality impact their belongings drastically including their Phad. Each
Phad therefore, although built for a rugged life, rarely lasts beyond 3 generations
of active use. When a Phad needs replacement, the Bhopas approach the Phad
artists to commission new artworks.
Why Phad is practised? What it is trying to express?
● Mostly, the stories of the folk deity Pabuji and the Gurjar Warrior, Devnarayanji are
depicted on Phads. Other fascinating stories that people find interesting like Ramayana,
Mahabharat, Geet Govind, and the likes also depicted through Phad.
● Pabuji - Also worshipped as a folk deity. He lived in 14th century in a remote village known
as Kolu, near Jodhpur, in Rajasthan. The Phad represents his divine character as an
incarnation of Laxmana.[ Ram’s brother- Ramayana].
● “Pabuji ki phad”, or Phad paintings of Pabuji being 13 armlengths long,
● Devnarayanji - was a medieval hero venerated as a folk-deity. He is worshipped as
incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. According to the legend, he was incarnated in year of
[911 AD] of Vikram Era as the son of Gurjar warrior Sawai Bhoj Bagaravat. Devnarayan
paintings being nearly 30 feet long
How It is practised?

● In ancient times, the storytellers [ Bhopas -Bhopis] would travel from village to village and
narrate the stories using Phads as their pictorial depiction tool. Singing and dancing made an
integral part of storytelling.
● The Bhopas (priests) would commission the Joshis to make a Phad to use in their
performances
● The Phad painting would be unrolled, or unfolded after sunset, and the performance in front
of village members.This is perhaps why the paintings are called ‘Phad’, which means ‘fold’ in
the local dialect.The whole would turn out to be an entertaining event for the village residents
that would go on overnight.
● What adds to the uniqueness of Phad art, is that historically, it was only members of the Joshi
family, belonging to the Chipa caste, that created these paintings.
Performing with Phad paintings
 Process
Phad Painters usually prefer the hand 'woven and hand'
spun (Khadi or Reja) coarse cotton cloth which is
believed to be stronger.
The artist prepares a mixture of wheat/rice flour and boils it with

water till it turns in a thick fine paste. This process is called

"Kalaph Banana".He then applies the paste of boiled wheat/rice flour and gum on the cloth. It is
called "Kalaph lagana".The cloth is stretched and dried well in hard sunlight. This is
called"Sukhana".The dried cloth is then rubbed with a stone device (Mohra) to make it smooth and
shining. This is called "Ghotana". The cloth is now ready and works as well as canvas.The artist
prepares his paints from gum, powdered earthen colors, water and indigo. They keep a grinding
stone on which the colors are ground with gum and water. This process is called "Rang Banana".
Earthen colors are used to give the tempera effect. Indigo, a color obtained from a plant, is still used
for blue. They use sea-shells to keep color.
The painter first of all divides the entire scroll into a number of sections and sub-sections, then he
prepares rough sketch of the whole painting in light yellow color. This is called "Kachi likhai
Karna".As the rough sketch is ready, the artist starts using colors in layer pattern from lighter to
darker value. This is called "Rang Lagana".The subtle black lines give the final touch. The forceful
linear expressions become lively after "Shyahi kadhana ( Application of Black Color) is put on the
phad.On an auspicious day the painter completes the phad.
Symbolism
● An artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and
indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of
mind. It originated in late 19th-century France and Belgium, with
important figures including Mallarmé, Maeterlinck, Verlaine, Rimbaud,
and Redon.
● The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
Significance and impact
Phad is an indigenous painting style of the state of Rajasthan, India, that depicts
the narratives of the folk deities of the state. This style of painting is the blend of
Rajput and Mughal styles of painting.The essence of these paintings is that they
are completely natural. Yet, this has, in recent years, proven to be detriment to the
popularity of Phad paintings because of a scarcity of these natural colours.
There was a time when the secrets of Phad painting were confined to the Joshi
family.However, when Joshi ji felt that the art form was slowly dwindling away, he
felt the need to establish ‘Joshi Kala Kunj’, now ‘Chitrashala’ in 1960 to develop
new artists other than the Joshi family. He virtually challenged all orthodox ideas
for the sake of art. He took upon himself the task of revitalizing this art, even at the
international level.He conducted workshops, approached media and spoke to
masses in India and abroad about Phad paintings. He guided both his sons
Kalyan and Gopal Joshi in adding new dimensions to this art.
 Materials
● Traditionally phads are painted with vegetable colours and waterproof mineral
colours.These colours remained fast and fresh for a long duration.
Artists innovation evolved in the form of waterproof earthen colours.
● They pound the natural earthen colours with gum, water and indigo to
produce the desired colours. They use colours in a fixed order starting from
orange-yellow to brown, green, red and finally black.The artists use orange
color for limbs and torso, yellow for ornaments, clothing and designs, gray for
structure, blue for water and curtains, green for trees and vegetation and red
for dresses, black is used for outlining.All these are outlined with bold black
strokes, which give definition to these colours.
● Squirrel hairs used as brush
● Mostly the phad is painted on silk ,khadi and cotton
Artists
Shree lal Joshi

He was born on the 5th of march 1930.

He discovered many new techniques. He won many awards , the Padma Shri
being one of them.
Shri Nand Kishor Joshi

Shri Nand Kishor Joshi is leading Phad painter among

other artists of Joshi lineage of Chhipa caste. His sons

Have taken up phad painting and have won many awards.

They have been taking up workshops and exhibitiohs of their phad paintings

Prakash Joshi

Mukut Joshi
Examples

A phad painting depicting the

story of

A phad painting depicting Ram Vivah. Depiction of Holi

A phad painting depicting
Raas-Leela.
A phad painting depicting
the Satyanarayan Katha.
A phad painting
depicting Samudra
Manthan.
A phad painting
depicting Lakshmi
Messages on coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) and documenting the present times,
along with the traditional stories of deities and gods.