The Hyderabad chapter of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) on Sunday announced a new initiative to promote the 400-year-old craft of Cheriyal scroll painting, that is native to Telangana.
Under the initiative ‘Tirumani,’ the organisation will seek to revive the art form and teach organisational skills to the local artisanal community and guide them in creating lifestyle-oriented product range, establish a market channel and give the art form the visibility and promotion it deserves. FLO Hyderabad has also adopted the Cheriyal village as a part of the ‘Adopt a Village’ initiative.
The Cheriyal craft is believed to be under the threat of extinction because of its declining popularity and demand. The art form currently survives with the help of just 16 artisans.
Usharani Manne, Chairperson, FLO Hyderabad, said, “Through Tirumani we want to ensure that more traditional artisans come back to the fold and with sustained efforts, we want to create better market linkages and assist in product innovation.” While unveiling the logo, catalogue and website for this initiative, Usharani said that this is a small offering to the artisanal community of Cheriyal.
The art form of Cheriyal painting is considered to be a modified version of Nakashi art and is rich in local motifs. The scrolls are painted in a narrative format similar to a film roll or comic strips. They depict stories related to the epics and Puranas. The Nakashis are the artists of Telangana and the scrolls constitute a key element of the social and cultural setting of Telangana. These paintings were confined to the Cheriyal village hence, they are called Cheriyal scrolls.
Priya Gazdar, Honorary Secretary, FLO says that the name ‘Tirumani’ comes from the gum that is used as a binding material in Cheriyal art. They have also acknowledged that more than 60% of artists earn less than Rs 5,000 a month.
Siva Devi Reddy, CEO of GoCoop, notes that India’s rich cultural diversity and heritage provides a huge resource for handicrafts. The Indian handicraft industry is said to be a $100 billion industry which accounts to a mere 1.2% in the world handicrafts’ market. Speaking about digital adoption, he said that the digital has a profound effect on Artisans. COVID-19 has accelerated online adoption.
Sai Kiran, a fourth-generation Cheriya artisan, noted that three things — Manpower, Marketing and Product Design support from Government and organizations like FLO will help in promoting the art and preserving it.
Usharani Manne adds that as one of the largest employment generators after agriculture, the handicrafts sector is a key means of livelihood for India’s rural and urban population. She notes that assisting handicraft artisans was important for FLO as close to 50% of the workforce in the sector is women and it has the capacity to absorb more.
The Cheriyal scroll painting received an Intellectual Property Rights Protection, commonly called the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, in the year 2007.