3. Pabuji Ki Phad is a religious and traditional scroll
painting of folk deities, which is used for a musical
rendition of the only surviving ancient traditional folk art
form in the world of the epic of Pabuji, the Rathod
Rajput chief.
Bhopas of Pabusar are the bards and also priests who are
the traditional narrators of this art form. The Phad is also
spelt as “Par.”
This art form is popular in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
Literally, 'Pabuji Ki Phad' translates in to two versions
namely, “The Screen of Pabuji or O, Read of Pabuji!.
Pabuji is also known as "the Ascetic Deity of Sand Desert".
History
4. Pabujiis worshipped as a folk-deity. He lived in 14th century (16th
century is also mentioned) in a remote village known as Kulu in
Rajasthan.
Dhadal Rathore of village Kolu is father of Pabuji the younger brother,
The Kulu village where Pabhu was born, now has only two conventional
but small temples within a courtyard, where puja (worship) is offered to
the Pabuji.
This village was known as the "great village fortress of Kolu" and it
included the shrine of goddess Daval.
6. The Phad or Par represents, in its painting, the
court of pabhuji, his palace and his divine
character as an incarnation of Laksmana,
brother of the Rama of the Ramayana Hindu
epic story, the forts in which he lived as well as
the sanctum of his goddess Deval.
7.
8. Paintingmethod:
The Chipas or Joshis are famous phad painters. Dance is
often part of the musical tradition.
It is a hereditary art form, which is passed on from father
to son.The painting is drawn on a cotton cloth.
The cloth is first prepared by applying a paste of flour and
gum.It is then polished with a stone.
A virgin girl only has the privilege of giving the first stroke
of the brush on the Phad painting; normally the girl
belongs to the painter's family or to a high-caste.
9. The Phad canvas is usually of 15 ft × 5 ft sheet
cloth, on which are painted (or sewn) miniature
scenes depicting the life of Pabuji and his
adventures.
As the Phad gets worn or torn or becomes thread
bare, a formal religious procedure is followed to
decommission it.This procedure is called
tandakarna,in Hindi, which means to cool or
remove its divine power.This is done by confining
to the holy waters of the Ganges or Pushkar
Lake.
11. Colours-
The colours are mixed with gum and water, and
painted one colour after the other, in the order of
orange, yellow, and so forth. Black is the last
colour paint used for the border.
An outline of the painting is drawn by the artist
with light yellow colour paint; only earth colours
or vegetable colours or indigo are used.
12. The Phad, from the time it
is painted by the renowned
painters of this art form,
is treated with utmost
reverence by the Bophas.
They make daily offerings
to the Phad. It is
considered a hereditary
possession and is passed on
to one of their kin to
continue the tradition.
13. This epic is also sung by the Bhopas. In this case, even
the furling of the Phad is signalled by the blowing of
conches. Both men and women attend the
performances. As the Bhopa minstrel sings the ballad
accompanied to the music of the ‘ravanhatha’*, his wife
holds an oil lantern to illuminate the particular portion of
the scroll where these deeds have been painted.Together
they recite the phad (a painted ballad). Performances are
held at night.
bhopa
14.
15. As a last act, the artist is said to give 'life' or
"awaken the deity" of the painting by opening
the pupil in the eyes of the main deity at the
centre of the painting.
16. The earliest painting of a Phad or Par, as
mentioned by John Smith, a scholar of the "Epic
of Pabuji", is dated to 1867. Colonel JamesTod,
the British Lieutenant reported of a ceremony
that included a Par painting in 1819.With the
emphasis on bardic narration of Pabhuji Ki Phad
said to be on the decline in recent times, painters
of Pars or Phads are also making Phads as
collector's items in smaller sizes, and with
different religious and other themes.
