Phad in Rajasthan is a special form of textile art. Phads are cloth paintings, generally thirty feet long and five feet wide. They are painted in vibrant hues to depict various episodes and historic scenes of the land. Phads are not merely paintings but are intertwined with the culture of the state. These painted scenes act as the visual narratives and are accompanied by high strung renderings of heroic and valorous kings and their deeds by the folk ballads. Phadakye are smaller Phads. Heroes of the land such as Goga Chauhan, Prithaviraj Chauhan, Amar Singh Rathor and Tejaji were the protagonists of the olden day Phads but recent time’s trends have seen most Phads depicting Papuji and Narayandevji and their heroic deeds. The Phads are a series of narratives portraying the life and exploits of Papuji Rathod, who championed the cause of the Charan Community. Papuji has been elevated to the status of a divine man by the bards of the region.
A multi chromatic color palate defines the Phads. The order in which the colors are added to the pictorial depictions of historic episodes is as follows- orange, yellow, brown, green, red and black. Brilliant greens and raging reds dazzle the onlooker and make the scene lifelike. Orange is used to color the warriors’ limbs, yellow to signify the golden ornaments and finery, the water bodies are colored blue, the flora is marked in green, red is used for the general clothes donned by the characters and gray marks the general structure.
Kadhi is a hand-woven indigenous fabric that is used as the base for these paintings. The colors traditionally used were are all natural vegetable dyes; however, in current days a concoction of natural dyes, gum, water and indigo is used as a substitute. This concoction is more weather proof than the traditional colors used. Many rituals were associated with the commencement of Phad paintings. After the usual reverence to Goddess Saraswati (deity believed to bestow artistic abilities) and Lord Ganesh (invoked to sanctify new beginnings) outlines of the forms and the background settings (trees and animals) are sketched on the base or the kadhi. A yellow general coat (kachcha) is applied and the youngest girl in the family is called upon to paint the first stroke. Joy and celebration mark the occasion. Now the artist proceeds to settle down to his job at hand and painstakingly creates the painting. The Phads are combined with folk song and dance renderings of Papuji’s life and a total of 52 panwaras or couplets comprise the dance drama. Art connoisseurs across the globe are bewitched with this unique art form and its cultural heritage.
