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Kavad Craft of Rajasthan
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The tradition of storytelling with picture has existed in India since the second century BC. The tradition provides an entertaining and educational method for relating religious scriptures of Hinduism- the epics- Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas and Tantras. Telling a story in the pictorial tradition allows a way for the illiterate and the socially deprived classes, who were not allowed to enter into a temple.
Bassi in Rajasthan is well known for its kavad craft all over the world. The artisans of the Kumavat caste make a range of carved and painted objects, among which is the kavad, the portable shrine with multiple folding doors, each of which is painted with representations of epics and myths. These are used by the Kavadia Bhatt, the itinerant priests who narrate epics whilst simultaneously pointed to the appropriate illustrations on the kavad with a pointed to the appropriate illustrations on the kavad with a
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peacock feather.
These are portable wooden shrines and sometimes called “god-boxes”. These “god boxes”, the kavads, are commissioned by the Kavadia Bhatt to the Kumavat caste. The Kavadia Bhatt specifies to them the story that has to be pictorially depicted. Colors are also very specifically used for each part of the kavad. Orange indicated the human body, red is the color of the dresses, green is the color fro nature, ornaments are made in yellow and grey indicates architecture, with black outlines. Shiva is always identified with white color, Brahma with red and Vishnu is always shown with blue color.
The kavad is a story box made of light wood measuring 80 cms high. Sometimes it can be larger also. The wood that is used is usually adusal or meetha neem and filled with a mixture of sawdust and adhesive. The object is then dried and sanded and coated with khaddi, a type of soil found in Bhilwara district, which acts as a primer and gives the object a shell white hue. Previously, naturally derived colors were utilized but they have now been replaced with powder or poster colors that are mixed with gum and water and finished with a coat of transparent varnish.
It opens up to reveal multiple folding doors, each painted with brightly colored scenes. The kavad is respected as a portable shrine. The Kavad consists of an elaborate series of painted hinged panels. Most kavads follow the same general format: illustrations from the great epic, the Ramayana, on the left series of panels and scenes from the life on Krishna on the right, with references to local myths and patrons towards the end. Each scene is divided either by a border, tree, river or a building.
As the story progresses, the Kavadia Bhatt- the bhopa, unfolds each new door until the entire box has been opened. The story ends with the darshan of the deity, who is usually a 3 dimensional figure in the frontal position. After the story is finished, the audience is asked to place a donation in a small drawer at the bottom.
It is one of the most visually evocative crafts of the state of Rajasthan and unique throughout the world.
Image Courtesy: Handmade in India, M P Ranjan and Aditi Ranjan, 2007, COHANDS |
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