PHAD
Paintings

Phad Paintings are large and complex horizontal paintings that visually depict the story of the Rajasthan’s local hero-gods. 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.

While the story is narrated using songs & dance, the visual impact provided by the phad. Stories of Pabuji & Devnarayanji are popular especially if they are in Phad style. The main objective of the Phad painting is to depict the lives of the local heroes in the folk style.

Painting Technique

Since they depict the different episodes, these paintings are customarily opened or unrolled only after sundown, in conjunction with the all night performance. This could be one reason for these paintings to be called Phad. Which means folds in Rajasthani dialect. The word Phad is possibly derived from Sanskrit word patt. The painters who traditionally engage themselves in the profession of Phad painting are known as Phad painter.

The principal subjects for the paintings are the life of two legendary Rajasthani heroes-Pabuji & Devnarayan ji- who are worshipped as the incarnation of lord Vishnu & Laxman. Each hero-god has a different performer-priest or Bhopa. The repertoire of the bhopas consists of epics of some of the popular local hero-gods such as Pabuji, Devji, Tejaji, Gogaji, Ramdevji.The Phad also depict the lives of Ramdev Ji, Rama, Krishna, Budhha & Mahaveera. The iconography of these forms has evolved in a distinctive way. All Phads, no matter which hero-god they present, have certainly similarities.

Like other scroll painting these Phad paintings are created using the rainbow colors which are mostly bright and subtle colors. The popular themes of these famous Phad paintings are usually of Hindu deities, the old legends and epic stories of the maharajas of the bygone era. Phad paintings are very much magnificent and its outlines are drawn in block and filled with colors.