Scroll Painting of Cherial, Telangana

Printed in earth colours, this is a traditional craft practised mainly at Cherial in Warangal district. The art form is believed to have come down from Vishwakarma, the divine architect of the artisans, and has stood the test of time over generations. The technique of painting is traditional and the themes are derived from Indian mythology.

Cheriyal Paintings are beautiful works of art that are painted on khadi or cotton cloth. The richly coloured paintings depict the Hindu epics in a narrative format. Initially, these paintings were done only on scrolls running into many metres (about 10 to 30 metres) in length. Presently, they are done on small pieces of khadi or cotton cloth or even on cardboard. Various items such as masks, marriage gifts, jewellery boxes, brass paintings and greeting cards are also decorated with these paintings.

This type of painting is a community based art; the Kaki Padagollu is the main community and they use the paintings as a visual aid to recite tales from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Cheriyal Paintings are typically characterized by their size, which can be many metres in length, and the background that is painted mainly in a red colour. They depict tales narrated by different communities.