NARRATIVE SCROLLS
Image courtesy of Prakash Joshi
“It is important for each generation of traditional artists to bring their own expression to an art while staying true to its technique. This ensures an art evolves and has multiple expressions from traditional to contemporary”, says award-winning master phad artist Prakash Joshi, Bhilwara, Rajasthan state, India.
Joshi specialises in the art of phad painting whose beginnings are traced to the tenth century. It was - and continues to be - practised by the members of the Joshi family. “The word phad is derived from the Hindi word pud that means to read. It literally means to read a painting as the work has multiple horizontal panels with painted figures and forms. Traditional phads narrate events and beliefs related to gods and local hero-deities”. 
Image courtesy of Prakash Joshi
Traditionally, phads have been painted for bhopas, who are priest-bards. who narrated the events depicted on the phad. The phad was thus a ritual work; creating the work was an act of devotion for the artist and narrating the events depicted on it was an act of devotion for the bhopa. The earliest phads were about five feet in width and up to forty feet in length as they depicted stories in detail. Traditionally phads are painted in seven colours-orange, yellow, green, brown, red, black and blue with black outlines, with each colour used for specific figures and forms.
Image courtesy of Prakash Joshi
With change in times, artists are creating works that are much smaller and also as wall art. Artists are working on traditional as well as contemporary themes such as historical events, festivals, the role of education and care to be taken during the pandemic. While Joshi continues to use stone colours on phads painted on cotton cloth, he also paints phads with acrylic colours on canvas. He brings touches of gold to highlight some works; works details of dress and ornaments; and incorporates an element of shading to the otherwise flat colours. 
Image courtesy of Prakash Joshi
Art lovers connect with him to have phads painted of different themes, and learn the art of phad painting at Chitrashala, an art school founded by his father Nand Kishore Joshi. As phads can be rolled up and easily carried, they have been displayed at exhibitions and collected by art lovers in India and abroad.