Tag: Artisan Villages of Telangana

  • Artisan Villages of Telangana: Nirmal

    Artisan Villages of Telangana: Nirmal

    Second in the series, ‘Artisan Villages of Telangana’, comes the village of Nirmal in Adilabad district. A two hour drive from Hyderabad brings you to this town where all the village artists have got together to create a co-operative society, recognise themselves and setup a store to sustain this dying art form.

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    Practised by the Naqash artists of the 14th century, The Nirmal Art Form is an ancient tradition that has today, translated into making of toys and paintings from the locally available variety of softwood, known as ‘Poniki Chekka’. Though slowly fading out with each passing generation of the artisans losing interest; it originally flourished in the area, as the then rulers were great patrons of this art.

    Made from tender wood, put together with a mixture of saw dust in tamarind seed paste (chinta lappam) and finished with a coat of brilliant paint, typical also of the Nirmal Paintings, these handmade toys are very light.

    Tiger

    Artists of both these Telangana villages, Nirmal and Cheriyal use the same indigenous raw material to create such varied art. While the Cheriyal Artists use the chinta lappam to sculpt their masks, these artists use it to glue on the limbs and wings to their animal and bird figures and as a base to smoothen and bring shape to the toy.

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    All the artists are registered with the village cooperative society and work within its framework. Every artist is given a single toy to make, which he makes in number and takes around 20 days to a month to complete and so does not have to adhere to a stringent daily work routine but can pace it out as long as he delivers on schedule.

    You can tell a Nirmal Painting from its characteristic streaks of gold, always against a black background. & also, from the human form that is graceful in its expression and is eloquent in its influence of the Mughal Miniaturist Art and the Ajanta and Kangra styles of painting.

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    A Nirmal Painting of the Basara Gnana Saraswati Devi, the Hindu Goddess of Learning at Basara, an important pilgrimage destination in the district.

    Nirmal Painting of Basara Saraswati Devi


    Explorers Guide

    Getting There: Take the NH44 straight from Kompally. A smooth drive of 210 Kms should get you to Nirmal.
    Remember: There are quite a few tollgates along the way, so make sure to account for a little extra while budgeting for this road trip.

    Places of Interest: Add one or more of these to your itinerary to complete your day trip.

    • Shamgarh Fort – Right at the entrance to the town, make a quick stop here for a view of the whole town from the ruins.
    • Pochampadu Dam – Only 3 Kms off the highway, you don’t really need to make extra time for this one. Also known as the Sri Ramasagar Dam, probably owing to the popular Ram Mandir located here, not only is this one of the biggest dams in the area irrigating 5 districts of both Telangana and Andhra but it was also one of spots for the Godavari Pushkaralu last year.
    • Kuntala & Pochera Falls -Roughly around 50 Kms further ahead of Nirmal, both of these are in the same direction. Kuntala Falls are touted to be the highest waterfalls in Telangana.
    • Basara Sarawasti Devi Temple –  If religious detours are more your style, this is a must visit. Every day, thousands of Children begin their intellectual journey here with the South Indian Hindu ceremony, Aksharaabhasyam. This rite marks the start of a child’s formal education.

    Read Next: Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Uppada


    Read More on Artisan Villages of India:

    Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Sri Kalahasti
    Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh:  Karipakam
    Artisan Villages of Telangana: Cheriyal


     

     

  • Artisan Villages of Telangana: Cheriyal

    Artisan Villages of Telangana: Cheriyal

    I had earlier on my blog, done a story on the Weavers of Andhra Pradesh from the Karipakam – Patur region. Just like that, are other artisan villages in India which are so exclusive and distinctive in their technique that they lend their name to the Handicraft, irrespective of  the form they take.

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    Which is why I have decided to start a series titled ‘Artisan Villages’.

    I shall try and visit as many of these places as I can, in the process, learning and documenting traditional art forms prevalent in India from as far back as one can remember.


    I begin this series, with one closest home, Cheriyal.

    An hour away from Hyderabad is the village of Cheriyal in Telangana. Here is where the famous ‘Cheriyal Scrolls’ come from. These canvas scrolls made from Khadi are hand painted in a style unique to the local motifs and iconography. Characterised by a dominance of the colour red in the background, these brilliantly-hued paintings even received Geographical Indication Status in 2007.

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    Painted in panels as a narrative, these are like comic strips from the past, depicting scenes and stories from Indian mythology and epics. Distinct in their style they immediately convey the age old Indian traditions and customs in a beautiful and engaging manner. Of which, both, Lords Krishna and Rama are prominent and the most recurring. Originally used by the village bard as a visual aid to go with his stories and ballads, these scrolls have all but phased out with today’s more mainstream ways of storytelling and entertainment.

    The traditional Cheriyal Scrolls were sociologically and culturally significant in their time, for their use as a tool for educating the illiterate villagers. From a scroll that once had up to 50 panels, they have now come down to a single panel, as these artists adapt to its modern use as wall art.

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    Also coming from Cheriyal, are masks and dolls modelled along the same theme of ancient Indian mythology and local folk lore. These masks range from as small as the ones sculpted and painted on coconut shells to as large as the ones moulded in cement.

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    Now, there are very few artists practising this traditional art form, with Cheriyal being the last village standing that continues to produce these scrolls and masks. Of the three remaining artist families in the village are the husband and wife duo, Vanaja & Ganesh.

    Cherial Artists

    They are both government recognised artists, who have had the honour of transferring these Cheriyal Masks as 10 feet wall murals in Nagpur for the President, Mr.Pranab Mukherjee’s visit some time ago. While, Mr.Ganesh has conducted workshops under the South Central Zonal Cultural Centre’s Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme. Their two daughters also chip in during their time off from school, for these village arts are usually a family occupation.

    All in all these scrolls when framed, make for gorgeous gifts. So if you are looking at exclusive party favours or corporate gifts with that characteristic touch of Indian-ness, you know where to go!

    Not only would you encourage a dying art form but you would also be making a statement. :)


    Explorers Guide

    Getting There: Ideal for a quick day trip, Cheriyal is 54 Km from Hyderabad and can be reached by road in less than an hour and a half. Take the NH44 to get there.
    On the Way: Make a pit stop at any of the Dhabas in Kompally to refuel.

    Get in Touch: With the artist, Mr. N Ganesh on +91 9000181059.


     

    Read Next: Artisan Villages of Telangana: Nirmal


    Read More on Artisan Villages of India:

    Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Sri Kalahasti
    Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Uppada
    Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Karipakam