Varied cultures of India also mean a plethora of singular art traditions. Which one is more unique, is hard to tell but they share a commonality of telling a story. Our epics, scriptures, mythologies, abound with stories and the traditions feed off these tales becoming multi-layered narratives. Pichwai of Madhya Pradesh, Patachitra of Odisha, Warli of Maharashtra, Madhubani of Bihar, dhokra of Chhattisgarh, ajrakh of Rajasthan, fulkari of Punjab, Channapatna of Karnataka are all centred around fascinating folklores. Phad painting of Bhilwara is yet another one, a 30 feet long scroll painting on cloth depicting episodes from the lives of Hindu gods, goddesses and local deities. Still in practice in Rajasthan, not much is known about it elsewhere which Art Tree sought to change through the recently concluded art exhibition “Phad: Mythical Heritage of Bhilwara” showcasing works of three generations of Joshi family - Shrilal Joshi, Kalyan Joshi and Vijay Joshi. The exhibition had 50 phads paintings out of which two were 60 year-old works made by Padmashree Shrilal Joshi.
Practised by the Joshi clan for 700 years, they are believed to be one of the most ardent followers of Phad. Kalyan Joshi, the elder son of Shrilal Joshi, talks to us about keeping the mythical art alive. Edited excerpts from a brief chat.
How has the phad changed over the years?
To give you a little background, both Pabuji and Devnarayan are local deities who are worshipped by Rabari tribals before every auspicious occasion and even during bad times. A bhopa and bhopi, the priest and his wife - sing the legends of Pabuji and Devnarayan, who is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, in front of the vilagers. Bhopa also plays Ravanhattha, a bow string instrument believed to have originated during the time of Ravana, the king of Lanka. Earlier phads were solely dedicated to local deity Devnarayan and Pabuji. But gradually, stories of other gods and goddesses, other legends, other myths also started to get space on the phad. Now, the artists are painting "Gita Govinda", stories from Ramayan and Mahabharata. Also, the size has shrunk. From 20-30 feet long, its size has now come down to 18-20 feet.
There seems to be a revival of interest for our folk arts but there were long periods of lull too. How did you overcome that?
In the 60s, we completely stopped doing phads like lot of others. We used to work for the principalities of Satra and Banera. After these princely states were abolished, we didn't have much to do. We lost our livelihood. Many artists started grocery stores and my father started to paint signboards and cinema banners. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, the great activist, social reformer, met my father and suggested to him to make small phad paintings and sell it to Central Cottage Industries in Delhi. She also met a well-known industrialist in Bhilwara and told him to buy phad paintings and promote Shrilal, my father. And that's how we survived.
Shrilal Joshi developed a unique style of his own. what changes did you try to incorporate?
I started to concentrate on one scene instead of the entire story. I also tried to incorporate words as well. A scene from Ramayana would be accompanied by the corresponding chaupai. Komal Kothari ji, a cultural impresario, suggested that I break the phad into smaller stories. He said people live in flats now and don't have enough space on their walls to hang such huge paintings. So, I also reduced the size. I started doing 6 by 6 and 8 by 8 feet paintings. I have changed the colour palette as well. Earlier there used to be just primary colours but now I am using colours other than those. And now, I am using it to inspire bhopa- bhopi to come up with new stories which have a message and can create awareness.
How does the work begin?
We commence our work with a prayer. Hand-woven cloth is soaked overnight so that the threads get thicker. It is then starched, burnished for a smooth and shiny surface and then the phad painter draws the entire narrative spanning the life of the deity and his divine deeds on this canvas. The figures are rounded, wear traditional attire and headgear and bright colours are used to fill them in. The colours are painstakingly extracted from natural sources- stones, flowers, herbs.
What is the status of bhopa and bhopi? Are they doing well?
Though in the villages, there is still demand for them to come and perform on special occasions. They still buy phads from us but they are stuck with the old stories. There are about 200 bhopa -bhopi families in the villages. Their work needs to be reinvented which is why I am getting new stories for them.
How many artists are practising phad today?
About 2000 artists have come out of Chitrashala, our institute for training in different kinds of Rajasthani paintings and phad founded by my father Shrilal Joshi 50 years ago. A lot of students have blended it with other traditions and are using it on apparels etc. In our family, there are about 10-12 artists practising phad. Earlier daughters were not taught the art which is also changing. My 21 year-old daughter Krithika Joshi is also making phad paintings.
