ART (INDIAN FORMS) > PICHWAI

Pichwai (pichvai) is a style of painting that originated over 400 years ago, in the town of Nathdwara near Udaipur in Rajasthan, India. Intricate and visually stunning, pichwai paintings, made on cloth, depict tales from Lord Krishna's life. The cloth that is used as the backdrop for Shrinathji in his shrine is painted to give the wholesome effect to the surroundings. Shrinathji's figurines are drawn with other important elements that were the part of his life like cows and the likes. This is how Pichwai was born in Nathdwara. This 400 years old visually stunning art form majorly depicts the life tales of Shrinathji, the Child Avatar of Lord Krishna, each story uniquely suited to a particular season or festival. Originally Pichwai was painted on the handspun starched cotton fabric. The artisans would then sketch the art on that starched cloth. Then the decorative and beautiful images were created.