Phad

Phad painting is a centuries-old scroll art from Rajasthan. It is most closely associated with the Joshi family of Shahpura in the Bhilwara district, who have practised and preserved the tradition for nearly seven hundred years. 

Unlike most decorative art, a Phad is created as a ritual object rather than a mere image. It serves as a portable temple, unfolded during nightlong performances led by a priest-singer known as the Bhopa, who narrates the deity's story in song. At the same time, a companion illuminates each scene with an oil lamp.

The scrolls typically depict gods such as Pabuji and Devnarayan, heroic figures rooted in the region's pastoral and warrior communities. Phad artists painted on handwoven cloth with natural pigments drawn from stone, plant and earth. 

The compositions are densely packed, with figures, animals and architecture arranged according to narrative importance rather than chronological order or realistic perspective. Colour carries symbolic weight throughout, with blue reserved for divine figures and yellow marking wealth and status.

The tradition owes much of its survival to Shree Lal Joshi, who opened this once-exclusive family craft to wider training in 1960, and his son Kalyan Joshi, who adapted smaller formats for contemporary collectors. Together, they carried a deeply ritualistic art form into modern relevance.