All about Kavad art, where every wooden door paints a new story

India is the land of art, culture, stories, myth, worship, and much more. And when it comes to storytelling, we have a rich tradition there as well. Be it the Panchtantra, the Amar Chitra Katha books, people’s love for ‘Daastangoi’, or the Kavad art, storytelling is a part of our personality and culture.
But what if a story wasn’t just told with words, but with a visual element that opened doors to pictures and gave the storyteller his or her new episode? (Image: Canva)

The visual element we are talking about, that opens doors to new stories, literally and metaphorically, is the Kavad art. Kavad is a traditional form of storytelling that originates from Rajasthan, and the main element here is a hand-crafted wooden shrine that looks like a temple and is painted with figures of Gods and Goddesses. It opens up like a series of folding doors, and with each panel that opens up, a new part of the story is told by the teller.
The stories are from epics like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, some local legends and folk tales, etc. (Image: handsondastkar/Instagram)

What makes Kavad unique is not just the art, but the experience that the listeners have when the storyteller opens the doors and tells them new stories. It is a combination of painting, performance, and oral narrations of the story, and instead of flipping the pages, you open, close, and flip the wooden doors of the Kavad. And the Kavadiya Bhat, the storyteller, will start the narration with the main door where the ‘Dwarpals’ are usually painted.

(Image: indian.temples/Instagram)

Kavad art was started to share religious stories and moral teachings with people who could not read or access the written scriptures. Oral storytelling was the bridge between culture and community, and the stories came alive with voice, visuals, and the opening of the box/door one panel after the other.
Wandering storytellers went from village to village, and with voice modulations and actions they told different stories of Lord Ram, Maa Sita, Lord Hanuman, and more.

A Kavad looks like a mini wooden temple with multiple doors, shutters, and layers that open one by one. They are made with softwood and each Kavad is carved, assembled, and then painted using natural colours.
A Kavad usually has 8 to 12 doors, and the panels are arranged in such a way that opening each door shows a different scene from the story.
It is painted with bright colours, and the background is usually a bright red with paintings of Gods and other figures over it.

Kavad is not yet a lost art, but it will be if people ignore it and forget about the beauty of the Kanvadiya Bhat. Now, very few Kavadiyas travel to tell stories, and many younger artisans have moved on to more stable jobs.
Sadly, the only way in which most people know about these Kavads now is as a form of decor, instead of a tool for storytelling. (Image: theindianweave/Instagram)