Workshop on Cherial Mask Making- Hyderabad

CHERIAL MASK MAKING WORKSHOPS in Hyderabad 

with Master Artisan Saikiran Varma 

 

This three hour session of moulding, shaping and painting Cherial masks is a short journey into the rich heritage of art techniques that are unique to our country.  

 

The workshop will have two parts:  

1. Making one mask from a base.  

2. Painting a pre-made mask.  

 

Both the sections will be covered in three hours. All raw materials will be provided for. Every participant would learn 2 Cherial masks either male female or 2 animals.  Each participant will get 2 moulds (of which 1 will be pre-made by the artist) so that at the end of the workshop they can complete a pair of mask. 

 

Fees:  

 

Pre-Registration ₹ 1500 

Spot Registration ₹ 1800 

CONTACT : 9370379727 or padmaja@heartforart.co.in 

 

Register at https://www.heartforartonline.com/products/workshop-on-cherial-mask-making-hyderabad 

 

Please Mention preferred venue in the note when registering online. 

 

WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE & VENUES 

 

Saturday, 25 May :: 10.00 am to 1.00 pm - Phoenix Arena -Lane next to Lemon Tree Hotel, Hitec City. Contact: 7893656789  

 

Saturday, 25 May :: 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm - dāram,1-10-3/1 Boorugu Vihar, Lane, BEGUMPET. Contact: 040-27765503 

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST 

Dhanaloka Saikiran Verma, son of state award winners D. Nageshwar and D. Padma, hails from Rangareddy district Telangana. He studied Fine Arts from Sri Venkateshwara College of Fine Arts, Madhapur. He later chose to carry on with his family tradition of Cherial Scroll Painting and Mask Making. He has conducted multiple workshops across the country. 

 

THE ART FORM 

The tradition of Cherial Art form began with scroll painting. Cheriyal Scroll Painting is a stylized version of Nakashi art, rich in the local motifs peculiar to the Telangana. They are at present made only in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.Like most other traditional painting forms this was used for story telling. Particularly the smaller intricate stories from epics would be illustrated in the Cherial scrolls. Cherial scroll painting made way to mask making where a few characters from the scrolls were converted into masks. Tiger, cow, neutral characters like that of man, woman, bandit etc were made into masks, which were used to entertain the children and decorate houses with. The style and motifs used in scroll are replicated on the mask and are painted with the same colors. The traditional art form became an inseparable part of the profession of the story-telling, balladeer community known as Kaki Padagollu. They displayed the scrolls and accompanied by music and dance went from village to village narrating and singing their ballads based from their rich folklore which was rooted in the Puranasand Indian Epics, enlivening many a lazy village evening. 

 

The steps to Cherial Mask making are six fold if simplified. Namely- Sculpting : ‘Poniki’ wood is used to craft a figurine of choice and give it a crude form. Plastering : a fine mixture of tamarind seed paste and sawdust is applied over the base form. Bandaging : after the mixture dries up, cotton strips are layered of the figurine. Smoothening : liquid lime and chalk powder paste are coated to smoothen the surface. Coloring : On the base color, detailing such as eyes, limbs and accessories are intrinsically painted. Varnishing : to give a glossy look a coat of varnish is applied.