A 700-year-old legacy passed down over generations within a single family, Phad finds its origins in Shahpura, near Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Phad is a type of scroll painting that narrates elaborate religious stories of local deities and gods. Created as travelling or mobile temples, these traditional paintings were carried by priest-singers of the Rabari tribe, called Bhopas and Bhopis, who would sing and perform stories of their local deities - Pabuji and Devnarayan. The Phad painting would be unrolled or unfolded after sunset, and the performance in front of village members would last into the night. This is perhaps why the paintings are called ‘Phad’, which means ‘fold’ in the local dialect.
DURATION: 1 HOUR 14 MINUTES 13 SECONDS
LANGUAGE: HINDI (No subtitles available for now)
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Kalyan Joshi comes from a lineage of Phad painters, dating back to the thirteenth century. He started painting from the age of eight with his father Shri Lal Joshi, an acclaimed Padma Shri honoree. Kalyan Joshi experiments with new stories, contemporary style painting and line drawing. Joshi has received numerous awards across his career, including the National Award from the Government of India in 2010, the National Merit Award by the Government of India in 2006, and the Gauri Shankar Mehta Award, Maru Parampara in 2008.
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Phad is a 700-years-old narrative art, originally practised in Shahpura and Bhilwara in Rajasthan, India.
Phad painting originated in the small town of Pur in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Some artists migrated to Shahpura in the 17th century, whereas the ancestors of the Joshi clan settled down in Bhilwara around 100 years back from now. Since then it is quite popular in Bhilwara as well.
All the colours used in making Phad painting are natural colours that are self-prepared by artists. All the colours, such as Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black, are sourced from mountains. These are stone colours that are crushed, sieved and mixed with gum extracted from the trees. This gum is as thick as honey which is mixed with colours before it's applied on a canvas cloth.
Usually, it takes 30-45 days to make Pabuji's Phad. Devnarayan's Phad takes a little longer, around 60-75 days. Pabuji's Phad is 20 feet long and 5 feet wide, whereas Devnarayan's Phad is 36 feet long and 5 feet wide. Phad is divided into 4 parts to segregate the design and story.
Brushes used in Phad Painting are traditionally procured from the body hair of animals. In current times, synthetic brushes are taken in utility.
After you've attended this course, keep a focus on sketching. As you master the skills of drawing, it would be easier to paint it later. One requires 2-3 hours every day to learn how to draw Phad figurines.
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