Phad

Phad painting originated in Shahpura, Rajasthan, over seven hundred years ago. The word Phad refers to the large cloth scroll on which the narrative paintings are created. Traditionally, Phad scrolls were the property of the Bhopa community — folk priests who used them as mobile temples, unrolling them at night by lamplight while singing the epic tales of the deity depicted.

The tradition was almost entirely confined to one family — the Joshi family of Shahpura — for many generations. Shri Lal Joshi, a 20th-century master, is credited with bringing Phad to wider recognition and training the first female Phad artists, breaking a centuries-old restriction. His son Kalyan Joshi has continued this work and is credited with helping Phad gain GI protection.

Today, Phad is recognised as a GI-tagged art form and is actively promoted by the government and cultural organisations. While traditional Phad scrolls can extend for many metres, contemporary artists also create smaller works on paper and canvas.

Phad paintings are created on specially treated cloth using natural colours. The composition is first sketched in charcoal and then filled with colour, beginning with yellow and moving to other colours in a specific sequence. Black outlines are added last to define the form. The narrative moves from right to left across the scroll.

The visual language of Phad is immediately recognisable: figures are depicted in profile with large expressive eyes, bold flat colour areas, and elaborate decorative borders. Folk deities are depicted at a larger scale than other figures to indicate their divine status.