Times of Rajasthan · Rajasthan Darshan

Phad and Ravanahatha — a story that travels

Through the night, the bhopa and bhopi sing the epic of folk deities before the phad, to the ravanahatha.

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An epic on cloth

The phad, a long painted cloth, holds the whole saga of Pabuji or Devnarayan in one scroll.

Nomu420 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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The Shahpura tradition

The Joshi families of Shahpura in Bhilwara have painted phads for generations.

MicheleLovesArt / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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The ravanahatha sings

The bhopa plays the ravanahatha while the bhopi lights up, lamp in hand, the scene being sung.

Clément Bardot / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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An all-night telling

Sung through the night in village squares, the performance is still a festival of faith.

Marc Chang Sing Pang / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)