Sirpur

Surpur art, also called Surapura or Shorapur painting, came into existence after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire. After the Battle of Talikota in 1565, a group of miniature painters left their capital city in search of a new home. They found one in the court of the Surpur Nayaka rulers. This is where the art flourished between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries under the rule of Raja Venkatapa Nayaka. 

As a famous painting tradition of Karnataka's Yadgir district, Surpur focuses on restraint over richness. Figures are elongated and almost dreamlike, their almond-shaped eyes carrying a quiet, contemplative expression. The themes stay devotional throughout: Krishna's childhood, Rama's coronation, the gods of Vaishnava lore and more. These figures appear not in lavish gold but in careful lines and gentle colour, painted with gesso and natural pigments that have softened beautifully with age.

Today, only a handful of artists like Vijay Hagargundgi and Krishna Prakash keep this tradition alive. Their works survive mostly in museums such as the Salarjung in Hyderabad and the Jaganmohan Palace in Mysuru.

Looking at a Surpur painting feels like catching a story half-remembered, patiently waiting to be seen again.