The Epics, Tales, and Daily Life Stories in Cherial Paintings

Scrolls were used as aids for storytelling in oral traditions in many parts of India. In the Telangana region the Kaki Podugollu bards would travel from village to village. These storytellers would commission the Cherial artists to create painted scrolls for them. The original scrolls would be unraveled gradually as the visual backdrop to suit the narration. 

The painting has various important scenes from the Ramayana. This detail shows Dashratha, Rama’s father, going out to hunt.

This detail from the Ramayana scroll depicts Rama protecting the sages from the demons while they perform a religious ceremony.

Along with the stories of the great epics, tales of the exploits of local heroes were also narrated against the backdrop of local festivals and practices. Local festivals like Bathukamma were popular with the painters and bards. This painting is based on the festival of Bathukamma, the worship of the Mother Goddess that celebrates life and nature.

The scroll also illustrates the bounty of the mother Goddess in the form of nature's fertility and its creatures.

The painting depicts the bard’s role in society. The Haridasu, or the bard, sings to bless villagers with a good harvest, for which a woman offers him a container of grain.

This panel depicts scenes from a wedding, which is a celebration of both, life and nature.

Religious epics, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas, were popular subjects with Cherial artists and bards. What was unique in this region was that the stories were rooted in the practices and customs of the local communities. While the epics and festivals are popular, inspiration is also drawn from everyday village life.

This Cherial artwork shows villagers partaking in the bounty of the land as they cook and celebrate. Cooking and feasting are integral parts of post-harvest celebrations in many parts of India.

Various scenes from daily village life, like drawing water from the well using a pulley drawn by cattle, are shown in the painting.

The storytelling tradition has now been taken over by cinema and television. The original scrolls are no longer in demand. Today, the artists make abridged versions of the paintings to fit into a modern home. While the format is still similar to the original, select scenes are depicted to convey the spirit of the original story instead of all of it. Paintings based on the daily lives of the villagers are quite popular. This painting depicts 'The fruit gatherer and the hunter'.

This section of a Cherial painting shows women collecting crabs from the water. While drawings of human figures, and even foliage, are fairly detailed, the crabs are drawn simplistically and appear almost comical.

Another panel that shows the hunting scenes.

The gathered fruits being taken home.