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Pabuji Ni Phad
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The Pabuji Ni Phad is a long pigment-painted cloth which depicts the epic story associated with the legendary fourteenth-century Rajasthani figure of Pabuji. It is a religious narrative scroll painting.
Phads are used throughout most of Rajasthan by itinerant story-tellers (bhopas) of the Nayak caste. The phad is used as a backdrop for a night-time recitation of Pabuji's hroic deeds. The phad is stretched out in the open between two bamboo poles and the bhopas and his wife recite the epic story, accompanied by music from a stringed instrument called the 'Ravanhattha'.
It is a very complicated story, with many plots and subplots, and it is actually impossible to tell the whole story in a single night. The audience-Pabuji's devotees- are largely rural villagers. The core of the story is that Pabuji asks the Charan lady Deval (who is a living goddess) for the
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magical mare Kesar Kalami, which he is granted. After defeating Mirza Khan at Patan in Gujarat, and being rescued from drowning in Pushkar Lake, by Gogo Chauhan, the snake god, Pabuji goes to Lanka to steal Ravana's she –camels. In the process, he kills Ravana and on the way home he passes through Umarkot in Sind, and there the Sodhi princess Phulvanti falls in love with him. A proposal of marriage is sent to Pabuji, and is accepted.
On his way back to Umarkot, with his wedding procession, Pabuji is stopped by the Charan lady Deval, who tells him that his enemy Jindrav Khici is coming to steal her cows. Pabuji continues, But half-way through the wedding ceremony he is called away. Pabuji returns home to kolu and then is persuaded to set out and recapture the cattle. He succeeds, but is later killed by jindrav khici, with Pabuji's own sword. Phulvanti then commits suttee, and ascends straight to heaven.
The Pabuji phad cloths are made by members of the joshi branch of the Chippa printing community. The cotton fabric ground of the cloth is first prepared for decoration with rice starch and then burnished with a heavy stone. The cloth is then divided vertically by three painted lines, and the outlines of the figures are drawn out in pale yellow. Gum-based gouache colours are painted on, starting with the lightest. Quite often the figures do not quite match the original outlines, but these will in any case be edged in black in a final stage in the process.
Traditionally, the Chippas are supposed to paint in Pabuji's eye last. Once this has been done, Pabuji is considered to reside in the phad, which is then ready for ritual use. There is always a little box for written information, painted by Pabuji's head. The painter's name, the place and date, the bhopa's name and the price he paid for it are all put in this can be wiped out if the phad is sold to another bhopa. In the past, phads would end their days by being immersed in the holy lake of Pushkar, near Ajmer.
Other pigment- painted textiles are found in Rajasthan at Nathadwara. Known as 'Pichhvai', these temple hangings are used by the Vallabhacharya sect and depict Lord Krishna manifested as ShriNathji.
Images sourced from Google search engine with the term ‘Pabuji Ni Phad’ |
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