Storytelling in Folk Paintings

in Module
Published on: 21 August 2018

M.D. Muthukumaraswamy

M.D. Muthukumaraswamy is a Tamil writer, Director of National Folklore Support Centre, Chennai, and a Consultant at Sahapedia.

This module presents nine folk painting genres, Bastar, Chitrakathi, Gond Painting, Kalamkari, Kerala Mural, Madhubani, Pattachitra, Bengali Patua, and Saora, with stories drawn by the folk artists in each of the styles. The artists tell the stories in four to twelve paintings in a sequence. After presenting the art and techniques of storytelling in the introductory section of the image gallery, the images are further presented with the folk tales. The stories are from the traditional repertoire of the artists and the focus here is on the art of storytelling in each of the styles and genres presented here.