As the sun travels downward, the delicately folded Phad comes undone. A Phad is a 15 to 20 foot horizontal piece of cloth on which an entire folk tale is depicted. The stories commemorate the deeds of local heroes. Usually the stories revolve around 2 main folk heroes: Pabuji and Devnarayan-ji.
Devnarayan-ji was a hero of the 10th century AD. C. and he was known to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. His story is said to be very similar to that of Krishna. Pabuji, on the other hand, was a hero of the 14th century AD He was a local Rajasthani who abandoned his wife on the marriage pyre to keep his promise to help a woman from the Charan community save her cows. During his attempt to save the last calf, he was killed in battle. According to folktale, Pabuji is said to have ridden his horse for about 10 km after his head was killed. He erected a temple where his body eventually fell dead. Both men have the title of ‘Cattle Heroes’ who fought vehemently for the cows of their community and ended up giving their lives trying. Cattle heroes are collectively called Bhomiyo. Only some Bhomiyo become famous and attain divine status.
Today, renowned Phad painting artists like Prakash Joshi are further expanding and exploring the art form by creating Phad paintings that narrate stories of Durga, Sati, Ramayana, Mahaveer, Buddha and even the Krishna-series. Read it.
To date, the origin of the Phad remains a mystery. This is because once a Phad gets old and worn out, it is destroyed by ceremoniously dipping it into the holy lake at Pushkar. This ritual is known as Thandi Karna. Therefore, the earliest specimens of Phad’s paintings are not available to us. The oldest Phad painting available today is from the late 19th century.
Ideally, a Phad is only painted during the monsoon season. This is done in the belief that the popular lords are asleep during this time. Traditionally, he is only painted by people from a special cast: Chippa, also called Joshi. Ideally, only vegetable dyes are used as paint for the Phad. This is because natural colors stay fresh for a long time. Today, however, the scarcity of these natural dyes forces Phad artists to use artificial or synthetic colors. When painting a Phad, only one color can be used at a time. Only once full use of this color has been made can the next color be applied.
The initiation of a Phad painting is marked by a ceremony dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. Once a draft of the folktale is drawn and perfected on the khadi cloth, all figures are given a base color of yellow. This is called kashcha. Finally, the youngest virgin of the artist’s family is summoned. She lands the first blow on the Phad. This ritual is followed by a distribution of sweets.
Every available inch of the khadi cloth is covered in figures. Although the characters are harmoniously painted on the canvas, the meaning given to each character depends on the social status and the role the character plays in the story. Another intriguing feature of a Phad is that the characters never face the audience. All the characters represented on the canvas face each other.
A Phad painter does not paint the eyes of the main figure until he hands them over to the Bhopa. The Bhopa is the priest-performer who uses the Phad to represent the story depicted on it. At the moment of the delivery of the Phad to the Bhopa, the painter draws the eyes of the main character and adds the name of the Bhopa to the Phad.
Traditionally, the art of painting a Phad was never taught to girls. The painters feared that the skill would drift away from their family when the women who were taught the art were sent after marriage to other families. The men would acquire the skill as they would be given paint and cloth while they were young to experiment and learn. Most young children would spend a lot of time with their parents and would therefore automatically be endowed with a gift for art.
Once the Phad is delivered to the Bhopa, the exquisitely painted Phad comes to life with music, dance and storytelling. The Bhopas belong to the Bhopa caste and are the men who interpret the tale represented in the Phad. The Bhopa usually adorns a red baga (skirt), Safa (turban), a red bagatari (a long shirt), and ties Ghunghroo (ankle bells) to their ankles. He uses traditional instruments such as the ravanhatta or the jantar to sing the popular songs. He is helped by his wife, the Bhopi, who holds an oil lamp and lights up different parts of the Phad while the Bhopa sings and dances. Wearing the intricately designed Phad the Bhopa, the performing priest begins the Phad Bachna – ‘Narration of Legend’. The Bhopa usually begins the narration by singing the lura, which refers to the hymns of the popular hero. The performance begins once the sun goes down and continues until dawn. It takes up to 4-7 nights of performances to complete the telling of a single story. Traditionally, the Bhopa and the Bhopi used to travel from one village to another, presenting their Phad at a central place in the village and presenting it to the locals.
Unfortunately, today India is left with only about 13 traditional Phad painting artists. People don’t understand the value or the intricate work that goes into making a Phad. Prakash Joshi is currently the best known Phad artist in the world. He comes from one of the only surviving families of Phad artists: the Joshi clan. In 2009 he received the National Award (Premio Presidente) for his contribution to the art of dying. Prakash Joshi spends his time teaching this traditional art form at Joshi Kala Mandir in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. He travels to 5-6 cities in a year to hold exhibitions and workshops. Most Phad artists today earn income from exhibitions, workshops, and classes. Artists like Prakash Joshi are heartbroken by the current social value of Phad’s paintings. He believes that the government should do more in the way of funding and patronage of Phad’s artists. Phad artists are often called upon by the government to hold 3-4 month workshops on teaching art. However, these artists are bound for this period of time by a contract that restricts them from taking on any other outside work in terms of workshops or exhibitions. Prakash Joshi states that this arrangement is not financially viable for Phad artists as most of their income and networks are earned during exhibitions and workshops.
Also, the current market does not provide enough exposure to the Phad art form. For most consumers, the fabric becomes a mere complement to the interior of a room. “Most of my clients select a Phad based on whether or not it matches their wall colors. I teach my students this sacred tradition in hopes of reviving art in its truest sense,” says Prakash Joshi.
It is a shame to see such a rich cultural legacy fading away at such a rapid rate. The creation and presentation of the Phad is more than an entertainment activity. The entire procedure from the first stroke on the cloth to the last step of the Bhopa is done with a spiritual dedication. During the Phad’s execution, the Bhopa becomes a priest and the Phad becomes a mobile shrine.