Phad Painting
Craft Cluster Initiative Project Documentation
Group Members: Ananya Mittal Gazal Bawa Kritika Thakuria Meher Kohli Rini Suhasini Saumya Kharbanda Subhash Malya
Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the help of several people. In this section, we’d like to show our gratitude towards those people, namely, Mr Prakash Joshi, for being more hospitable than anyone could ask for, and for providing us the information we were seeknig; Ms Anupreet Dugal, for helping us organise the trip, and providing guidance where we required a nudge in the right direction; Mr Vishesh Azad, for helping us work out all kinds of logistics, and for ensuring our well-being over the course of the visit; Ms Rupinder Kaur, for heping us get started, and giving us a direction to think in; Ms Jaya Jaitley, who’s discussion with us inspired our final strategies. Their efforts were most appreciated.
Introduction
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What is Phad Painting? Phad painting is a form of scroll painting prevalant in Rajasthan, the land of colours. The scrolls are the religious depiction of folk deities, which is used for a musical rendition of the ancient traditional folk art form using the rainbow of vibrant colors. It depicts the deeds of local heroes, the daily life of painters and peasants, rural life, flora and fauna. Some of the unique features of Phad paintings are the bold lines and a two dimensional treatment of figures with the entire composition arranged in sections The large-scale horizontal paintings on cloth portraying the epic lives of the local hero-gods are popularly known as Phad paintings. These paintings have the mammoth task of representing a complex and a full blown folk epic narrative, which it achieves through a very specific style of representation, filled with figures & pictorial incidents, these paintings form a kind of dramatic backdrop to epic story telling performances. Since they depict the different episodes, these paintings are customarily opened or unrolled only after sundown, in conjunction with the all night performance. The two most dominant phads are that of Pabuji and Devnarayan. Presently, Phad Painting is done by the Joshi clan of Bhilwara.
Origins Phad painting is said to have originated when Devanarayan was leaving Rajasthan. His worshippers, who were very devoted to him, ,however, were grieved by thi. They were saddened by the idea of how he will remember his idol eternally, for they wished never to forget the noble paragon. Devnarayan, being compassionate, asked a Jyotish to oaint a portrait of his, as a favour to his devotees. The jyotish, in a bout of divine inspiration, penned a whole scroll dignifying the grandeur life of Devnarayan; inscribing the scroll with the stories of his birth and upbringing, and his heroic deeds of kindness and nobility. On seeing the long scroll, Devnarayan was assailed by the doubt of how people would understand the story of his life in its entirety. He, therefore, assigned Bhopa to recite his story to people wherever they might be someone curious enough to listen to it. And hence, came the existence of Bhopa a troubadour, travelling around from village to village recounting the tale of Devnarayan.
Making of the Phad 1
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Phad Painters usually prefer the handwoven cloth which is believed to be stronger, such as Khadi or Reja. It is processed to make it good for the purpose. This process od applyfng the paste of boiled barley flour and gum on the cloth is called ‘Kalaph lagana’.
The cloth is cut to the appropriate size and then the rubbing of the cloth is done. The cloth is placed on a concrete block, and is rubbed using moonstone, or ‘hakik’ attached to a block of wood. A weight of 2040 kg is applied on the moonstone from above and presses down on the cloth. Rubbing causes the coarse texture from the starch to transform in to a smooth, glossy coating on the fabric. Once the whole cloth has an even, smooth finish, it is ready for painting.
Making of the Phad 3
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The painter first of all prepares rough sketch of the whole painting in light yellow color. This is called ‘Kachi likhai’. He then, divides the entire scroll into a number of sections and sub-sections. The artist, then, paints, designs, and structures canopies and trees in the subsections.
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. Earthen colors are used to give the tempera effect. Indigo, a color obtained from a plant, is still used for blue. The colours are applied as per their intensity, starting from the lightest, in the order of orange, yellow, green, brown, blue, red, black.
Making of the Phad 5
As a finishing touch, the entire painting is outlined in black. The clean black lines bring out the colours used on the phad. The forceful linear expressions become lively after shyahi is put on the phad. On an auspicious day the painter completes the phad. The artist signs in the central phad of the scroll where the largest figure of Devnarayan is painted. He writes his name, as also the names of the Bhopa and the patrons together with their addresses and the date of signing.
Our Experience
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The Bhopa’s Performance For our Craft Cluster Initiative, we decided to visit a branch of the Joshi clan in Bhilwara. We were invitied graciously into the school and home of PrakashJoshi, who told us all about Phad Painting. We started our journey with a trip to Harini Devi ka Mandir. At the mandir, after the Pooja cermonies, we visited to Bhopas who live there. The Bhopa and Bhopi performed for us the phad od Devnarayan in the local Marwari dialect. Though we didn’t undertand the words, the music of the Raavanhatta was enough to communicate to us the beauty and significance of this performance.
Following the performance we went back to the Joshi household, where we met another Bhopa, one who knew Hindi. As we sat enraptured, he told us about the epic of Devnarayan and translated for us the song we’d just heard, while pointing out the parts of a colossal Phad that showed what he was speaking of.
Historic Sightseeing The next day, we were taken through a guided tour of Chittor, and saw the beautiful forts and monuments, all of which had seen battles and historic momonts. On our third day, we were invited back to Chitrashala, where we talked to Prakashji about all there was to know about Phad Painting. He
also showed us previous research projects that had been done by others, and the projects that he himself had worked on. All this background on the history of Rajasthan got us even more excited to see how Phad Painting were really made, and how the rich culture of the region was translated into the art.
Painting our Scrolls The fourth day, our last in the small city, was an exciting one. This was the day where we actually got to paint out own scrolls (although ours were tiny, specially compared to the mammoth sizes of the traditional Phads.) We started with rubbing the startched cloth, and worked up our appetites. We were then treated to a hearty breakfast of daal-baati for our efforts. After the meal, the perpared cloth was cut into smaller pieces - one for each of us. Prakashji helped us sketch out our paintings, explaining to us why things were drawn a certain way. We then spent the next few hours hunched over our scrolls, painting bright colours and fine lines. Despite our amateur status, we were quite happy with the rsults, and admired each others handiwork.
Analysis
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SWOT Analysis Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
The materials required for Phad Painting is easily available and reasonably priced. There is also a fair amount of flexibility with the artisan who can decide to alter the medium for the paints as per the requirement. The equipment is mostly light tools such as paintbrushes, which are, again, easily available and affordable. The requirement for heavy equipment is minimal. Moreover, this equipment is capable of withstanding excessive usage, and does not show significant damage despite use by multiple generations. Phad Painting has traditionally been done by the Joshi family. The skill has been passed down from generation to generation. However, only the sons of the household are taught how to paint, while the women are assigned with the preparation tasks. In the past, only a limited set of people have possed the skills required for Phad painting. Though Phad Painting is traditionally done on cambric scrolls, it is now being adapted to new surfaces and media. This offers a lot of scope for product diversification. Phad painting is strongly related to storytelling. Traditionally, the Phad presents a narrative about local heroes, kings, or deities. However, the sensitivity towards the subject of the painting has diminished, and more contemporary stories are also gaining acceptance. New relevant stories told in the traditional style of the Phad paintings provide a very interesting opportunity. Over-commercialization of the craft may lead to the role of the Bhopa being eliminated. Though the Bhopa is not involved in the painting process, he plays a major role after the painting has been complete. He not only narrates the meaning of the scroll, but also carries messages and gifts from village to village. The traditions associated with the craft, which are a major part of the culture of Rajasthan are also in danger of redundancy.
Problem Identification One of the first problems that we identified during our study was that, looking at the big picture, there is very little awareness about the craft itself. Phad Painting is immensely popular within Rajasthan, specially Bhilwara, but the exposure it gets outside of the state is still limited. Moreover, the craft is majorly practiced by a the Joshi Clan alone. The Joshis recently opened Chitrashala, an initiative that helps people learn Phad Painting if they wish to. Though the students at Chitrashala are essentially locals who know about the craft, it has attracted a relatively large number of students and researchers intent of studying the craft. Through Chitrashala, the Joshis have also received commissions for projects that involve product diversification. This is leading the commercialization of the craft, however, in this process, the essence of the craft is getting lost. Phad Painting is not only an art, but is also very closely tied to story telling. The elaborate phads made by the artisan lose their meaning unless narrated by a Bhopa. Though modernization of the craft is necessary for it's survival, the inherent value of it should not be lost, and the focus should be to uplift the craft without allowing its associations with story telling to fade. GIving direction to the commercialization of the craft has been identified as a major problem and challenge. Another major problem that has been identified is that the Bhopas, or the narrators of Phad, are suffering. The commercialization of the craft is deminishing the role of the Bhopa, and taking with it an important cultural convention.
Proposed Solutions
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Strategies To counter the problems already identified, we decided to set up an exhibition that would move from city to city, bringing the craft to the people, and allowing them to experience the culture that goes with it. The exhibition space is to be set up to look like a campsite to give the feeling of being in the makeshift outdoors ‘theaters’ that the Bhopas performs his Phads in. The main attraction of the exhibition is a large handpainted scroll that presents the life of a Phad, with a focus on the traditions and rituals associated with it. The exhibition also displays the intrinsic qualities of Phad Painting, and what makes the drawing and painting style unique. To go with all this, the visitors are provided an information booklet which provide an overview of the history of phad painting, along with an insight into the process of painting a Phad. We also propose a performance space, where a daily performance by a Bhopa can be held. This will not only enrich the experience of the visitors, but also give the Bhopa his due share of the limelight. Another proposed space in the exhibition is a contact desk, where interested people can commission projects to the artisan. These projects can be products for personal use, or design projects for mass publishing. Thus, the exhibition will not only give exposure to the craft, but also help it to branch out. Also, as a companion to the exhibition, and to highlight the ties of Phad Painting to story telling, we have come up with a story book, telling the story not of Devnarayan and Pabuji, but a children’s poem which is more relevant in the current scenario. We have also come up with a range of stationery products with a Phad theme, which can be put up for sale to the visitors of the exhibition.
Identity After much consideration, we decided to name the exhibition, quite simply, “Phad”. We chose to keep the name straightforward and clear because the aim of the exhibition is to spread awareness about the craft and it’s associated culture. The logo for the exhibition would follow the same mantra of simplicity, and we settled on a circle with the word “phad” inside in Devanagari script. The word was then embellished with the tuning bolts of a Raavanhatta. The Raavanhatta is the instrument used in the performance of the Phad. It is symbolic of the Bhopa community. The logo has made in solid black to represent the last colour applied in the painting process. The usage of a single colour makes to logo very flexible and can be printed on surfaces of any colour in any of the seven colours of the paintings as per the requirement, or can be used in solid white against a dark background.
Deliverables As part of the strategies, we came up with a set of deliverables. These include the display items in the exhibition, along with other physical objects that we have created in accordance with the communication strategy. All the deliverables have been created by hand, drawing on all the things we learned on our visit to the Phad Painting cluster in Bhilwara.
A Phad about a Phad The highlight of the exhibition is a massive scroll, handpainted on muslin. This scroll depicts the life of a Phad. It focusses on the rituals and customs performed during the creation of the scroll. The craft of Phad Painting is religious in nature, and this scroll gives an insight into the significance of the traditions followed by the artisans.
Deliverables Board Game The conceptualization and creation of the board game “PHADventure� was one of the most fun exercises of the project. The objective of the board game is simple: to follow a numbered trail to the end, and be the first one to get there. The board was designed in four parts, each part depicting a different geographic zone (the village, the desert, the island, and the jungle.) The reason behind this was to mimic the the layout of a Phad, where the story is not told chronologically, but geographically. To highlight this aspect, the trail was also altered. Though every step of the trail is numbered, the numbers are placed randomly across each zone, forcing the players to traverse the area of the board several times. Along the trail, certain steps have been marked and instruct the player to draw a card. The cards force the players to move all over the board, enforcing the jumbled layout of a Phad and the nomadic life led by the Bhopa, while adding an interesting twist to the game; You never know where you’re going to land next.
7 years & up 2 - 4 players
Deliverables Story Book Another very enjoyable part of the project was the creation of the story book. The story chosen is a folk poem which is not only fun to read, but also very entreating to read aloud. It follows the story of an old lady who swallowed a fly, and then followed it up by swallowing a series of animals to catch the fly. The illustrations bring a new flavor to the story, and were a delight to draw and paint. They were then scanned, colour corrected, and the type was set, to finally prepare the book for a printing.
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly. An old folk song
Deliverables Notebooks Notebooks with a Phad theme were created as a part of a range of stationery. The covers were hand painted, and the notebooks were then handstiched. The notebooks were made is two sizes and orientations: A6 landscape and A5 portrait. The covers are also of two types, one of them is a typical scene from a Phad painting, while the other is a composition of phadinspired borders.
Deliverables Bookmarks Bookmarkswere made to show go with the concept of storytelling, and also be a part of the range of stationery products.
Deliverables Memo Pads A Memo Box was made which includes a set of loose sheets with a Phad inspired motif on them, and a box with Phad elements to place them in.