BHOPAL: A nine-day exhibition ‘Cherial Scroll Paintings’ by Dhanaloka Saikiran Varma, D Nageshwar, D Padma and D Sravan Kumar began at Alliance Française Gallery Bhopal on Friday.
Organised by Alliance Française de Bhopal, the Indo-French cultural center, the exhibition was inaugurated by an eminent Gond artist Ramsingh Urveti
The name ‘Cherial Painting’ came from the village Cherial, seddipet Dist, Telangana.
These artists are living in this village from past century. Scrolls are painted in the simple way by using natural water colours.
The story tellers used to carry scroll painting from one village to other by telling stories. It is an interesting tradition of combining a singing rendition of stories with marvelous illustrated pictures.
Dhanaloka Saikiran Varma (BFA, state award master craftsmen in cherial scroll painting and masks) and D Sravan Kumar (BTech) are son of state award winner master craftsman D Nageshwar.
They chose to carry on with their family tradition of Cherial Scroll Painting and Mask Making. They have conducted multiple workshops across the country and aboard like Thailand Malaysia and Germany.
Dhanaloka Saikiran said “It is a traditional art which is a pride of Telangana State. Basically, in the old days the rural people entertained with several activities like puppets, storytelling, etc. In these storytelling Cherial scroll paintings played vital role. Paintings are done mostly on the ‘Khadhi cloth’.
Unlike the scroll paintings of Cherial, dolls are three dimensional and free standing.
“Nakashi Dhanalakota Venkatramaiah’s family is the only family of traditional scroll painters in Cherial village, and produces scroll Paintings, dolls and masks. The products produced by this family are used as aids to narrate the myths and folklore subjects in the villages by wandering storytellers,” Sravan Kumar said.
He said “In old days there were many scroll painters in Telangana region earning their livelihood by indulging in preparing the paintings on the cloth rolls running to several feet length. Initially it is termed as ‘Telangana Scrolls’.”
The exhibition is open for all art lovers till March 14 from 10am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday.
