Pithora

Pithora paintings are created as a votive offering — when a family's prayers to the deity Pithoro are answered, they commission a Pithora painting as an act of gratitude. The painting is traditionally made on the walls of the home's main room, transforming the domestic space into a sacred one.

The Rathwa tribe of the Chhota Udaipur region has practised Pithora for centuries. The art gained wider recognition in the 1970s through exhibitions and craft promotion initiatives. Today it is also created on canvas and paper for collectors.

Creating a Pithora is a community event. A specialist painter called a Lakhara creates the painting while the family and community celebrate with music and ritual. The process cannot be interrupted — the painting must be completed in a single session.

Pithora paintings are filled with horses, riders, elephants, and divine figures arranged in dynamic, swirling compositions. The horse is the central figure — horses carry the deity and serve as vehicles for divine energy. Figures are depicted in profile with bold outlines and flat colour fills.

Natural earth pigments in bright primary colours are applied using cloth or grass brushes. The compositions are not pre-sketched; the Lakhara works from memory and tradition, each painting unique while following established compositional conventions.