HYDERABAD: Telangana has a rich history of storytelling, interspersed with numerous performative artforms. Supporting these performances, there are visual representations of the tales being narrated.
One of these traditions of performance takes us to Cheriyal— a small village in the Siddipet district of Telangana— mostly known for its scroll or ‘Nakashi’ paintings. Around the city, (for example, at Secunderabad railway station) one can find simple figures depicting rural life of Telangana in bright red backgrounds and colourful hues. Traditionally, these paintings had a cloth base, painted with a mixture of tamarind and tree lac paste. Natural colours were used to make figures and outline, with brushes made from squirrel and goat hair.
These ‘scrolls’ were used to accompany folk artistes who would narrate mythological tales in villages. Artist Kondapalli Seshagiri Rao has said that these scrolls, which are three-foot-wide and can go about 30 to 40 feet in length, derive from Kakatiyan sculptures.
Rao, in his preliminary research, connected these scrolls to the traditional toys of Kondapalli—themselves with a rich history dating back over 400 years and associated with a skilled artisan community called Nakarshalu or Aryakshtriyas. It is believed that these artisans originally migrated from Rajasthan to Kondapalli village, in Andhra Pradesh, where they subsequently received patronage from local kings.
Similarly, the scroll paintings are associated with the ‘Nakashi’ tribe of Cheriyal. Stumbling upon these dolls and scrolls in rural Telangana, Rao started documenting their types and origins and found that each caste and sub-caste had its distinct way of making the paintings. He found that while all performers were called ‘Kakipadigala varu’ in general, (padige meaning patam/scroll and Kaki may have come from the Persian word ‘Khaka’) but he identified a few specific ones such as Pandavulollu, who performed for the Mudhirajus (Fruit Gatherers), Yenutivandlu performed for Goundlu or Jettis (Toddy Tappers), Kunapuli or Padigerajulu performed for Salevandlu and Saayandlavallu (Weavers), etc.
In his survey notes, Rao asserted that he came across around 100 painted scrolls, from 64 villages he visited in Telangana. The paintings dated back 150-200 years, and posed a resemblance with the early Nakashi paintings and the ceiling paintings from the Veerabhadraswamy temple at Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh, hinting at a connection to Kakatiya sculptural traditions.
Rao also contended that Nakashi’s style was conventional rather than folk, which depicted a greater finesse in craftsmanship, attributing its similarity to Kakatiya sculptures. The newer folk representations were simpler and amalgamated traditional elements with depictions of Telangana’s lifestyle. As the skill was rooted in respective families, with the later generations, the apprentices who were willing to learn from the masters became fewer in number which impacted the style of the paintings as well.