The Intriguing History of Pichwai Paintings

It is not common for people brought up in India to have grown up listening to the glorious stories of Lord Krishna. The stories of Krishna, especially the tales of his childhood, make up a significant and beautiful part of Indian culture and history. From books to movies and different kinds of media, these tales are everywhere. However, not many know that there is an art form specialized particularly to depict these tales of Krishna. Known as one of the most significant folk paintings of India, Pichvai paintings are a sheer art of talent and creativity.

 The central theme of Pichvai Paintings revolves around the stories of experiences of Lord Krishna, majorly from his early years. Although lesser known by its name, Pichvai paintings find their home in galleries and buildings around the world. Let us understand what are pichvai paintings and what makes them different from the rest of the popular folk paintings of India. Further in the article, it will be elaborated how the pichvai art was born, its modern-day picture and other interesting facts.

Pichvai is a Sanskrit word in which ‘pich’ stands for back and ‘wai’ stands for hanging. Pichvai paintings are referred to Mewar-style textile paintings that are found hanging on the walls of temples, houses, art galleries and museums, specifically Nathdwara temple from where they were first originated. With recent modern interventions to the art form you can even buy pichvai paintings online form different portals.

The Pichvai art of paintings dates back to 400 years. Although Pichvai is a 400-year old Indian art form, its origins date back even earlier. If you’re of Indian origin, you must have heard the tale of Govardhan at some or the other time in your life. It goes like this.

Once upon a time, Lord Indra under his rage expressed his anger on the people of Vrindavan in the form of thunder and rains which led to heavy floods in the city. In order to protect his beloved fellows, little kid Krishna, on one of his fingers, lifted the Govardhan mountain as a form of an umbrella.

Discovery of Nathdwara Temple

Around 1400 A.D., an idol of the mountain holder was discovered at a place near Udaipur, Rajasthan. Owing to its significance, the place became highly revered and hence to preserve the moment of history, a temple was constructed here by the Rajputs.

The Beginning of Pichvais

 Next, during the 16^th century, not soon after the construction of Nathdwara temple was completed, the local artists began the decorations of the temple. One such decoration came about to be Pichvais. Communities of artists started creating embroidered and painted illustrations of events from Lord Krishna’s life. The velvet cloths were intricately decorated with a hand in threads and embellishments of a royal kind and then hung on the walls of the temple. Soon enough, the lesser known art started attracting artists and art lovers from around the globe. And this is how Pichvais were discovered and found their home in hearts and galleries around the world.

In the recent times due to increasing popularity of Pichvai paintings backed by invested art lovers, you can even find different portals selling pichvai paintings online. Ensure that you buy an authentic pichvai painting. It is important that before buying it from any portal an individual researches well about its credibility and thereafter make a decision of purchasing.