Rajasthan’s rare folk art comes to Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) Veteran actress Sushma Seth inaugurated a show of Rajasthani miniature Phad paintings at Bikaner House here in the Capital on Thursday evening.

Titled "Phad: Mythical Heritage of Bhilwara," the exhibition is curated by Pragati Agarwal of Art Tree and will be on display till October 8.

The exhibition includes nearly 50 Phad paintings, two of which are rare originals created nearly six decades ago by Bhilwara's illustrious Phad artist Padmashree Shrilal Joshi. The rest have been painted by the scions of the Joshi family -- Kalyan and Gopal Joshi -- over last two years.

Seth mentioned that she is personally fond of miniature art and she took time to view each and every artwork on the wall while interacting with the guests. As she thanked the artists Kalyan and Gopal Joshi for bringing colour into our lives through their vibrant artwork, in the background, the Bhopa, belonging to the nomadic Rabari tribe of singers, along with his wife the Bhopi, brought the Phads alive enacting the scene depicted in them while playing a stringed instrument.

"Phad is a traditional art form -- more than seven hundred years old -- from the Bhilwara/Shahpura region of Rajasthan, known not only for its vibrant colours, but also the fact that it is accompanied by an oral tradition of rendering the gatha (folklore). This rendition is performed by Bhopa and Bhopi -- priest and his wife from the Rabari tribe. The accompanying instrument is a two string 'Ravanhatta'. The singing is about the gods, about the heroics of either the local deity Pabuji or Devnarayanji revered by the Gujjar community of camel herders. The Phads -- painted like horizontal scrolls with natural colours -- also portray folklores, scenes from the Ramayana, and other mythological narratives," said Pragati Agarwal, Founder, Art Tree and curator of the show.

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