Gadwal Saree

Gadwal Saree is a handcrafted woven sari style in Gadwal of Jogulamba Gadwal district in the Telangana State, India. 

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Gadwal sarees are made from cotton and silk which is usually tussar or mulberry. “The dyeing is usually done at Chirala where the yarn is dipped in boiled coloured water at an extremely high temperature. Higher temperature means the colour will last a long time.

It was registered as one of the geographical indication from Telangana by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Though Gadwal is the most famous of all, there is an entire of cluster of smaller villages also engaged in weaving these sarees. Over 800 looms are used every day at Rajoli village to create these seven yard beauties. All sarees produced here are sold to the master weavers of Gadwal, which is probably why Rajoli is overshadowed. Other notable villages where they are made are Gattu, Yemmiganur, Aiza and Nagaladinne.

It takes painstaking effort over five days to make one beautiful Gadwal saree on the loom using the interlocking weft technique. Even then, the weavers’ job is not complete; he has to meticulously attach the silk border using ash to finish the saree. They are most notable for the Zari on the saris. The sari consists of cotton body with silk palluwhich is also given a new name as Sico saris. The weave is so light that the saree can be packed in a matchbox

The sarees made on machines using low-quality silk take less time and are sold in the market as original Gadwal sarees. The true hallmark of a Gadwal saree is the merging of cotton and silk threads in the border, which differentiates it from the sarees made on powerlooms.

With any handloom fabric, making it relevant to the increasingly fashion conscious crowd is a challenge. Of late, Gadwal sarees, have received a huge impulse thanks to the efforts of fashion designers like Sanjay Garg and Vinay Narkar who have contemporised it with their labels Raw Mango and Reshamwala. A quick browse through their websites reveals curated Gadwal sarees unlike the generic stacks one has to sort through to find a standout piece.

Though Gadwal sarees got a boost under the patronage of the Nizams and got accentuated with a geographical indication (GI) certificate in 2010, the plight of these weavers is similar to those in other parts of the country as they struggle to make a better life for themselves and their children with the paltry sum they make a month.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/the-last-drape/article4817410.ece

https://telanganatoday.com/understated-elegance-gadwal-sarees

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Pochampally Saree

Pochampally saree or Pochampalli Ikat originates from the Bhoodan Pochampally region in Yadadri

Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana.

These popular sarees are renowned by their typical geometric patterns and the special Ikat style of dyeing.

The uniqueness of Pochampally Ikat is its ability to create extremely complicated designs using bright dyes.

The fabrics used are natural – cotton, silk and sico (a combination of silk and cotton). The painstaking weave and meticulous eye for detail makes the Pochampally weavers stand apart and are revered throughout the textile industry.

Chintakindi Mallesham, a Class 6 school dropout from Telangana, has innovated the Laxmi Asu Machine easing the taxing manual process of weaving Pochampally saris and helping weavers increase their production without putting their health at risk.

Pochampally Ikat uniqueness lies in the transfer of intricate design and colouring onto warp and weft threads first and then weave them together globally known as double ikat textiles. The fabric is cotton, silk and sico – a mix of silk and cotton. Increasingly, the colours themselves are from natural sources and their blends.

Pochampally, a cluster of 80 villages, has traditional looms, whose pattern and designs are centuries-old. Today this Silk City, which is more of a cottage industry, is home to more than 10,000 weaving families in 100 villages. The fabric is marketed through the cooperative society, many other linked organizations, the master weavers and the business houses in Pochampally. Pochampally does more than Rs.10,00,000,00 annual business in terms of yarn sales, purchase of handloom products and sales. The government in 2010 divided the belt into two clusters Pochampally 1 and Pochampally 2, and is proving common weaving centres. Because of its unique design, efforts are on to revive the dying art.

Pochampally saree received Intellectual Property Rights Protection or Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2005.

Pochampally Ikat is the registered property of Pochampally Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd and the Pochampally Handloom Tie and Dye Silk Sarees Manufacturers Association.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pochampally_Saree

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Gollabhama Saree

Gollabhama or Gollabama sarees are globally famous, and even have the Geographical Indication Tag.

Though Siddipet Gollabhama sarees have a geographical indication tag, it hasn’t led to any boost in sales for the weavers.

Sustaining this art means getting the weavers to incorporate the motifs in stoles, dupattas and scarves and use new colour palettes which is happening slowly.The weavers replicate these silhouettes to create alluring designs on their looms with cotton as well as silk yarns. 

The saree is often in a single colour dotted with small gollabhama butas throughout the fabric, while the larger intricate motifs are showcased on the border and/or pallu (end-piece). Typically, three motifs are used for saree designs viz. Gollabhama, Bathukamma and Kolatam, with Gollabhama being the most commonly used.

These sarees get their name from the decorative motifs that are used – the gollabhama(milkmaid). Gollabhama (milkmaid motif) woven onto the border of the saree refers to women of Golla community. Lore has it that in the Dwaparyuga, milkmaids would carry pots of milk and curd to offer to Lord Krishna. The bewitching silhouette of these women in bright ghagra and choli inspired weavers to replicate it leading to Gollabhama weaving style. “Mostly, the saree is a single colour with a flower pattern interspersed throughout the body. It is the intricate motifs on the saree border which is the defining feature,” says Satyam, a master weaver involved in preserving the style. There are mainly three motifs used in the saree are Gollabhama, Bathukamma and Kolatam, with Gollabhama being the most popular in the lot.

When it comes to creating the motif, the weaver needs to meticulously pass the coloured thread through the warp to get a clear design which is time consuming. “All this while pulling the looms strings thousands of time and swinging the pedal down simultaneously. It takes more time using a single thread, so weavers generally use the double thread technique. 

The intricate Gollabhamas of these sarees are neither embroidered nor printed but are meticulously woven into the border of the saree. The design is initially drawn on a graph, and translated to a pattern using a set of 80-100 threads. These threads define the specific position where the warp is raised and coloured threads are inserted. While creating these motifs, the weaver passes coloured threads (for each motif) through the warp to achieve the resulting design.

Siddipet weave is popularly called the tie and dye weave. The uniqueness of these weaves lies in the transfer of the unique design and colour onto warp and weft threads. These are then weaved together. The fabric used for weaving purpose in Siddipet is pure cotton. The colours derived from natural sources and related blends are used in this form of weaving.

In the handlooms of Siddipet, the process of dyeing is tie and dye technique where the warp and weft are tie-dyed before these are weaved for creating unique designs on finished fabric. The precision of wrapping is the key for obtaining clarity in terms of design. After the process of wrapping is done, these warp threads are dyed.

Siddipet handlooms are renowned for the durability of the colours that are used in the yarn. The handlooms of Siddipet are hand-woven, and the frame looms are mostly used for weaving. The Siddipet Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society Ltd was established in the year 1960 in Siddipet town. The society takes up marketing and sales of the Siddipet Handloom sarees, made with Cotton. The cotton sarees of Siddipet, in the Medak region is a remarkable tradition that has brought a lot of fame to this town.

Apart from sarees, the handlooms also produce towels, bed sheets, pillow covers, and other cloth material used for decorative as well as interior purposes in homes. There is a growing interest among the customers towards choosing handloom varieties in the current era and this revival of interest and patronage is being seen as an advantage for Siddipet handlooms. The cotton sarees created here are popular all over and many weavers are now modernizing their looms and creating good market for these sarees by organizing regular exhibitions.

The handlooms of Telangana region represent rich traditions and with the advent of e-commerce and social media, the tradition is regaining its prominence and the weavers here are hopeful of a strong revival of the trade involving Siddipet handloom sarees, known for their quality and variety for many decades.

Despite global popularity and the geographical indication tag for these sarees, in the recent past the weavers haven’t found the sales to be encouraging. Weaving a Gollabhama saree takes around 3-4 days to make, but the weaver earns a meagre Rs. 350/ per saree. In its heyday, there were about 2000 weavers of the Gollabhama sarees, but today the number has dwindled to only six.

Recently, K. Chandrashekhar Rao, the Chief Minister of Telangana has called for adopting measures for the welfare and betterment of weavers in the state – by offering subsidy on yarn and also buying existing stock from weavers. He believes that specialty brands like Gollabhama sarees should be encouraged so that their past glory is restored.

Apart from buying handlooms, and perhaps adapting them in more trendy attires and accessories, one can only hope that the government’s efforts can support the weavers and help them preserve these traditional and folk arts.

https://floatstheboat.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/siddipet-gollabhama-sarees/

http://golkondacrafts.telangana.gov.in/category_siddipet_handlooms.html

https://telanganatoday.com/extinction-looms-gollabhama-weavers

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Cheriyal Scroll Painting

Cheriyal Scroll Painting is a stylized version of Nakashi art, rich in the local motifs peculiar to the Telangana.

Several hundred years ago, Kaki Podagollu, a story telling community would travel through Telengana, singing and narrating stories, and depicting them in a visual format.

An hour’s drive from Hyderabad is the village of Cheriyal in Siddipet district, Telangana. Here is where the famous ‘Cheriyal Scrolls’ come from.

 

These canvas scrolls made from Khadi are hand-painted in a style unique to the local motifs and iconography. Characterised by a dominance of the colour red in the background, these brilliantly hued paintings even received Geographical Indication Status in 2007.

Painted in panels as a narrative, these are like comic strips from the past, depicting scenes and stories from Indian mythology and epics. Distinct in their style they immediately convey age-old Indian traditions and customs in a beautiful and engaging manner.

Of which, both the Lords Krishna and Rama are the most prominent and recurring. These painted scrolls were what kept the people of that era gone by entertained.

Originally used by the village bard as a visual aid to go with his stories and ballads, these scrolls have all but phased out with today’s more mainstream ways of storytelling and entertainment. Read cinema for even the written word is all but fading away.

Little surprise there, for now there aren’t many artists, who still practice this dying art form.

D. Vaikuntham, whose family has continued this tradition since the 15th century is one of the masters of this art.

With Cheriyal being the last village standing it has exactly three artist families, who still pursue this traditional occupation of the region.

Conventionally used as a tool for educating the illiterate villagers, Cheriyal Scrolls were once sociologically and culturally significant. From a scroll that once had up to 50 panels, they have now come down to a single panel, as these artists adapt to its modern use as wall art.

Vanaja & Ganesh run workshops and paint for a living. It was from them that we learned there was more to this art then just painting on scrolls.

Also coming from Cheriyal, are masks and dolls modeled along the same theme of ancient Indian mythology and local folklore. These masks range from as small as the ones sculpted and painted on coconut shells to as large as the ones molded in cement.

Both of them government recognised artists, they have had the honour of creating 10-feet wall murals from these masks in Nagpur for the President, Pranab Mukherjee’s visit some time ago.

Knowing that this art has but few patrons, this couple in a bid to give their daughters a good life, are educating them to take up a more modern vocation, while also training them in this traditional art during their time off from school.

Cheriyal Paintings can be easily recognised by the following peculiarities and unique characteristics:

Painted in vivid hues, mostly primary colors, with a predominance of red in the background, the paintings are characterised by the unbridled imagination of the local artisans who were not constrained by the academic rigour that characterised the more classical Tanjore painting and Mysore painting. For example, the artist hardly bothers about perspective in Cheriyal paintings and sets out the narrative by placing the relevant figures in appropriate order and position in the relevant background. The iconography of even the major deities like Shiva, Vishnu, etc. has a strong local idiom.

The subjects of these scroll paintings are easy to relate to – as the themes and stories are familiar – drawn from ancient literary, mythological and folk traditions. The common themes are from the Krishna Leela, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Shiva Puranam, Markandeya Puranam interspersed with the ballads and folk-stories of communities like Gauda, Madiga and so on.

The main narrative is spiced up with scenes from simple rural life - Women doing chores in the kitchen, men working in the paddy fields or boozing away in merry abandon, festival scenes, etc. are endearingly depicted.

 The costumes and settings in which the figures are depicted are typical and reflect the culture of Andhra, where these paintings originated.

Within the narrow panels, proportion is created by depicting trees, or a building, a pillar with drawn curtains, etc. However more often than not, the proportion of individual characters is determined by their relative importance in that particular scene, with the most important character being the largest and most detailed and the lesser characters being smaller and less detailed.

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 Puranas and Indian Epics, enlivening many a lazy village evening.

In a typical recitation, the storyteller-balladeer would wander from village to village in a team of usually five people, with two to narrate the story while the others would provide a simple but hectic musical accompaniment with the harmonium, tabala and castanets. The stage would also be a simple affair (many times even to the extent of being a rough and ready fixture), erected on four poles with a horizontal bar on which the scrolls could be displayed.

The scroll would flow like a film roll. It was generally about three feet in width and went up to 40 – 45 feet in length, depending upon the story. The traditional scrolls are normally in vertical format, illustrating stories in a series of horizontal panels. A floral border in the middle separates the two panels, while the linear narrative is demonstrated by holding in both hands or suspending it from a tree or a building and continually rolling it. Like large sized comic strips, each panel of the scroll depicted one part of the story. Hence, a scroll would easily have around 50 panels. As the bard would narrate the story, the panel depicting that particular part of the story would be displayed. The choice of episodes and iconography of each deity was painted, keeping in mind the caste for which the scroll was made.

By virtue of its distinct traditional style and characteristics Cheriyal Paintings were recently given a Geographical Indications (GI) tag or Intellectual Property Rights Protection status in 2007.
The source of many stories, today, make for gorgeous gifts when framed.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheriyal_scroll_painting
http://www.telanganatourism.gov.in/partials/about/arts-crafts/cheriyal-scroll-paintings.html
http://www.goheritagerun.com/focus-dying-cheriyal-art-warangal/
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Sunday-Hans/2017-02-04/Painting-Stories-of-Cheriyal-in-Telangana/278357
By Neeharika Satyavada

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Wargal Rock Art

Glory of prehistoric period reflects in the rock paintings in the small temple town, throwing light on the rich wildlife and tradition of Stone Age.

Wargal One of those marvels left behind by the history for the posterity - rock arts - seem to continue to be the delight of archeological experts and young students. Historians from Telangana are busy deciphering the ancient paintings at the rock shelters here at Wargal in Siddipet district.

These rock paintings found in parts of the State show the love humans had for art and nature as long ago as 10,000 BCE. They provide ample evidence that a large number of wild animals were present in the State centuries ago. Shambhuni Gutta (Shambu’s Hill), beside the famous Saraswathi temple here has already emerged as a great spot for explorations relating to the prehistoric life.

The roofs of the caves in the hill have red pictures. The archeological department found some of these paintings. But a lot of them are yet to be explored further. Two archeological experts - Ramoju Haragopal and Srinvas – with their assistant Chanti tried to decode the message that had been hidden in the form of art.

They found a painting of a creature that looked like a crane and three persons at the southern side of the cave. Among the three, one is a female. The depiction resembles the paintings found at Asthalapur in Medak district. Most of the paintings found on the roof look like scripts. The circles and semi-circles of this script seemed to be difficult to interpret. Letters that sound ‘Ya’, ‘ka’,’tha’,’ga’ of Brahmi script along with letters of early Telugu are seen on these walls.

Different paintings depicting the culture and traditions of that time on a huge rock canvass of 12 feet height and 25 feet length can be found on the eastern side of the hill. More than 20 paintings of oxen, cows with udders, pigs, and a man hunting a tiger are seen on this portrait. Another man’s painting is unclear. All these paintings are of great skill and are in colour and without colour.

An anthropomorphic drawing resembling the depictions at Neeladri rock art found in Khammam district is also seen here. The drawings of animals like deer, stags, and tools denote that the scenery belonged to the medieval period. According to the observations of historians, the period of the paintings were spanning from medieval stone age to megalithic age. Central India is the richest zone of prehistoric rock art in India.

The highest concentration of rock art sites is situated in the Satpura, Vindhya and Kaimur Hills. These hills are formed of sandstones, which weather relatively faster to form rock shelters and caves. They are located in the dense forest and were ecologically ideal for occupation by primitives. They were used for habitation in the Stone Age and even in the later periods. Inside the caves on the walls and ceilings, artists painted their favourite animals or human forms, symbols, daily life hunting and fighting.




Source

http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2016-01-15/Wargal-wows-rock-art-lovers/200371

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Telangana Literature

1st Century

Gunadhya "Brihat katha" was the first known poem-story of the Telugu region. Gunadhya wrote it in the paisachi prakrit language. He belonged to 1st Century A.D.  Historian believed that he lived in the pythan region. He was a court poet of Hala, the Satavahana ruler. Original Text is not available today, it is available in the form of translations into the sanskrit language. Its  sanskrit transaltions are Brihatkatha sloka sangraham (Somadevasuri), katha saritasagaram (Somadevasuri), Brihatkatha Manjari (kshemendra)

5th Century

410 - 435 A.D : Toluchuvandru’ rock inscription found at Keesaragutta temple in Medchal-Malkajgiri is said to be dated between 410 and 435 AD and believed to be the first recorded Telugu inscription.

575 A.D - The Kalamalla inscription unearthed on the premises of Chennakesava-Siddeshwara temple at Kalamalla village in Yerraguntla Mandal Kadapa district A.P.  is written entirely in the Telugu language and put up by Renati Chola King Erikal Mutthuraju.

10th Century

Chalukyas of Vemulvada who patronized Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu. 

Adi Kavi Pampa (902 A.D - 975 A.D) was court poet of Arikesari II (930 - 955 AD). 

The Chalukya King of Vemulawada, Arikesari-II asks Pampa to write an epic to immortalize him. Pampa takes up the work with utmost earnestness. Within one year, he creates Kannada’s greatest epic ‘Vikramarjuna Vijaya aka ‘Pampa Bharatha. Arikesari-II is greatly pleased with the work of Pampa. He bestows him with an honorific ‘Kavithagunarnava’ and also gifts him with an agrahara called Dharmapura. 

Pampa’s samadhi (grave) was discovered in 1970 in the town of Bodhan, Nizamabad district. It is now lying in a neglected condition in the town’s Basavataraka Nagar.

Books: Adi Purana, ‘Vikramarjuna Vijaya aka ‘Pampa Bharatha

Pampa had a younger brother named Jinavallabha. He installs the idols of Chakreshwari and other Jain deities on a hill called Vrishabhadri, north of Dharmpura. He builds a Basadi named Tribhuvana Tilaka and also creates a garden called Madanavilasa. At the bottom of the hill he constructs a lake and names it ‘Kavithagunarnava’ as a tribute to his brother. Finally he inscribes all what he has done on a rock below the idol of Chakreshwari.

This inscription is of utmost importance to Kannada and Telugu languages. It is written in three languages viz Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit. The Kannada portion contains invaluable information about Pampa. The Telugu portion is the oldest Telugu Kanda Padya. They are one of the important historical evidences, submitted to the Centre, for securing classic language status to Telugu.

A verse from Telugu Jinendra Puranam by Pampa, a couple of verses from Telugu Adi Puranam by Sarvadeva (believed to be the title of Ponna) and Kavijanasrayam by Malliya Rechana were all authored by Jain poet's and are the examples for Jain contribution to Telugu Literature.

The hill Vrishabhadri is now called Bommalamma Gutta situated near Kurikyal village, Gangadhara mandal in Karimnagar District of  Telangana State, India.

Malliya Rechana (c.940 AD)

Telugu language poet and writer, who lived around 940 A.D, in present-day Vemulawada, Telangana State of India. He has written the first Telugu prosody (chandassu) book called Kavijanasrayam or Kavijanasryamu. There seems to be even earlier prosody book by Rechanna’s guru Vaadindra Chudamani which is not available.

Sarvadeva believed to be the title of Ponna (c.945 A.D)

Ponna had other aliases of Ponniga, Ponnamaya, Savana (a Jaina monk) and Kurugula Savana (a fair with frizzy hair). He had many titles too kavaichakravarthi, Ubhaya Kavichakravarthi (imperial poet of two languages), saujanya kandnakura and sarvadeva kavindra.
Author of Telugu poem Adi Puranam. He is said to have translated into Telugu even Virataparva from Mahabharata.

Somadeva Suri  (959 A.D)

Composed Yashodhara-charita (or Yashas-tilaka-champu, c. 959) a jain literature written in Sanskrit during the reign Vemulawada Chalukya Vagaraja (c.955 - c.960 AD) at Gangadhara town. 

He had the titles of Syadvadacalasimha, Tarikachakravarthi, Vadibhapanchana, Vakkakkolapayonidhi and Kavikularaja. He was the author of numerous works in Sanskrit including Yasastilaka, Nitivakyamira, Sannavatiprakarna and Yuktichintamanisutra.

Parbhani plates dated A.D. 966 issued by the King Arikesari III (c.965 - c.973 AD) of Vemulawada. It registers a gift of the village of Kuttum vrittiVenikatupalu in the midst of Repaka-twelve in the Sabbi -thousand to the famous Jain divine Somdadeva Suri for the white-washing, repairs, etc. to Subhadhama Jinalaya at Vemulawada. It appears that Repaka was a small administrative unit consisting of twelve villages. The pillar inscription" lying in the field near the middle school dated A.D. 968 reveals that Rapaka was a Jain centre with a Jinalaya built by the King Arikesari III. The inscription is damaged and the first letter of the name of the Jinalaya is not identifiable. The name can be read now as Khalivuttu Jinalaya to which several gifts were made by a number of disciples to Jain faith. A certain list of Jain ascetics is also given. This pillar inscription is of 116 lines carved on four sides. The first two sides are carved in Kannada and the last two sides are noticed in Sanskrit ending with the slokas of Vyasa Gita and a sentence in kannada. The names of Kama, Rama, Tukkaya, Revana and Kommayya etc., belonging to Srimadvittakula Jain family are found in the epigraph.

Vadiraja, author of Yashodhara Charita, and Pushpasena, (the teacher of Vadibhasimha, author of Gadyachintamani, were both disciples of Somadeva Suri.

Vemulawada Bhimakavi (c.1068 A.D)

12th and 13th Century

Mallikarjuna Pandita (c.1120 A.D to c.1190 A.D)

The first shaivate poet of Telangana. Mallikarjuna was the son of Bhimana Pandita and contemporary of Basaweswara. His Telugu works were Shivatavasaram and Srigiri Mallikarjuna Satakam. Worshippers of shiva believe that the samadhi in Bekkem was the tomb of Mallikarjuna.

Kakatiya Rudradeva
Nitisara: It is a Telugu work dealing with taxes and trade during Kakatiya Rudradeva (1158 - 1195 AD) period. It follows the sanskrit Sukranitisara in some respects.This book gives information about economic conditions existing in Telangana around 12th century.

Palakurki Somantha (1160 AD to 1240 AD)
Maha Kavi Palkuriki Somanatha lived in Palakurthi between 1160 AD to 1240 AD. He was one of the most noted Telugu language writers of the 13th century. He was also an accomplished writer in Kannada and Sanskrit languages and penned several classics in those languages.His popular writings in Telugu language are Basava Purana, Panditaradhya Charitra.

Basava Purana is a 13th-century Telugu epic poem. It was written by Palkuriki Somanatha. It is a sacred text of Lingayat. The epic poem narrates the life story of philosopher and social reformer Basava (1134–1196 CE), the founder of Lingayatism.

In fact, Somanatha was a rebel poet and wrote literary works in original Telugu (Janu Telugu) neglecting the grammatical rules prescribed by Nannaya, the ‘Aadikavi’, during his days. Janu Telugu is Telugu that has the least Sanskrit diction and can be easily understood by commoners. Before Somana, there was no single poetic work in Telugu on contemporary social events. He wrote ‘Basava Puranam’ which was in ‘Janu Telugu’ in Dwipada (two lined verse) with the inspiration of Veera Saivism. It was a masterpiece appreciated by all poets and was translated into Kannada.

Panditaradhya Charitamu: Telugu book written by famous Saiva Poet Palakurki Somantha. This is a biography of saiva preacher Panditaradhya. This book gives some religious perspective during that period.

Kolanu Ganapatideva  (1199 - 1262 AD)
Sivayogasaramu: Contemporary Telugu Saiva work written by Kolanu Ganapatideva. It gives us the history of Induluri chiefs who served the Kakatiyas from Ganapatideva (1199 - 1262 AD) period. 

Jaya Senapathi (1199 - 1262 AD)
Nrittaratnavali: This is a work in Sanskrit written by Jaya Senapathi the general and minister of Ganapatideva (1199 - 1262 AD). It is a lakshana grantha on dance and dramaturgy. The principles of various styles of nritta and natya are described in it. It is helpful in understanding the art of dance in Telangana during 1199 - 1262 AD period. 

Baddena
Nitisastramukthavali: Popular collection of morals written by Baddena (1220-1280 AD), a Telugu poet. The king, ministers, forts, defense of the kingdom, anarchy, evils of unloyal servants and general ethics are some of the topics discussed.

Vidyanadha (Agastya Pandita or Agastya Kavi)
Prataparudriyam or Prataparudra Yasobhushanam : Sanskrit poet and rhetorician of the court of Kakatiya Prataparudra II of Warangal (1289-1323). A commentary on this book was written by Kolachala Kumaraswami son of the renowed commentrator Kolachala Malliratha Suri. This books gives some historical perspective of Kakatiya Period.

14th and 15th Century
Gona Budha Reddy
Ranganatha Ramayanam was a pioneering work in the Telugu language written by Gona Budha Reddy on the theme of the Ramayana epic. Most scholars believe he wrote it between 1300 and 1310 A.D., possibly with help from his family.

Srikantha Krishnama charyulu

Marana

Hulakki Bhaskara

Mallikarjuna Bhattu

Kumara Rudradeva

Sakarya Ayyalarya

Madiki Singana

Bammera Pothana  or Potana

Pothana (c.1370–c.1450)  is the first Indian poet who translated the Bhagavata Purana from Sanskrit to  his mother-tongue Telugu. He was a Telugu and Sanskrit Scholar. His work Maha Bhagavatamu, is popularly called as Pothana Bhagavatam in Telugu. Pothana was born at Bammera Village, Palakurthy Mandal, Jangaon District in Telangana State. 

Books : Bhogini Dandakamu, Virabhadhra Vijayamu, Narayana Satakamu, Bhagawatamu.

Mallinatha Suri
Commentaries on five mahakavyas (great compositions) of Sanskrit: Mallinatha Suri was an eminent criticsaid to have received the titles of Mahamahopadyaya and Vyakhyana Chakravarti. He lived during the reigns of Rachakonda king Singabhupala and Vijayanagara king Deva Raya I. Based on the evidence from the inscriptions, it is estimated that he lived between 1350-1450 AD.

Mallinatha is well known as a commentator who has written glosses on Classical epics of Sanskrit, besides his commentaries on Śātric works. His Sanjivani commentary on Meghasandesa is the most popular one. He is also known as a poet, the fact which is rather unknown, though the names of his creative compositions are known to the scholars of Sanskrit literature.

Vinukonda Vallabharaya
Kridabhiramamu: Telugu book in about 300 verses. Some scholars attribute it to Vinukonda Vallabharaya and some other to famous poet Srinatha both belonging to 14 - 15th century. The subject matter of this book is the conversation between two friends Manchanna Sarma and Tittabhasetti about various topics which they come across while wandering the capital of Orugallu.

This book gives some information about urban life during Kaktiya Period. 

Gourana

Pillalamarri Pinaveerabhadrudu

Koravi Goparaju

Haribhattu

Charigonda Dharmanna

Kandukuri Rudrakavi

Addanki Gangadharakavi

Ponnekanti Telaganna

Saranagu Tammayaa

Marimganti Singaracharyulu

Surabhi Madhavarayalu

Elakuchi Balasaraswati

Kakanuri Appakavi

16th Century
Quli Qutb Shah Kulliyat-e-Quli Qutub Shah by Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1611) was a scholar of Arabic, Persian and Telugu languages. He wrote poetry in Urdu, Persian, and Telugu.

Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah had the distinction of being the first Saheb-e-dewan Urdu poet and is credited with introducing a new sensibility into prevailing genres of Persian/Urdu poetry.

Ekamranatha
Pratapa charithra: This is a work in Telugu prose written by Ekamranatha during 16th century.

Fictional : Traditional accounts of irrevalent and superstitious beliefs.

17th Century
Sarvappa
Siddeshvara charitra: This is Telugu dvipada type of verse written by Sarvappa of the 17th century.
Fictional : Traditional accounts of irrevalent and superstitious beliefs.

Futush-us-Salatin of Isami, a contemporary of Mahammad bin Tughluq narrates the tale of how Prataparudra was defeated by Muslim armies.

Kancharla Gopanna Dasarathi Satakam is a Telugu Bhakti Satakam, a popular form of Telugu poetry. It was written by Kancharla Gopanna during 17th century. It consists of 104 poems. Dasarathi means son of Dasaratha, who is the mythological Hindu king Rama. The makutam for all the poems at the end dASarathee karuNApayOnidhee! (O son of Dasaratha, the ocean of mercy)

Pengaluri Venkatadri

18th and 19th Century
Kuchimanchi Jaggakavi
Somadevarajyamu: This is written by Kuchimanchi Jaggakavi 18th century poet.

Fictional : Traditional accounts of irrevalent and superstitious beliefs.

Maha Laqa Bai Chanda Diwan of poems by Maha Laqa Bai Chanda (1768- 1824) lived in Hyderabad. Hailing from a courtesan background, she was known for her philanthropy in her lifetime.

She was wealthy, highly knowledgeable and much sought after by poets from all over the country. She was fluent in Urdu, Persian, Bhojpuri, Hindi and Telugu.

She is credited to be the first female poet to compile a proper Diwan of poems, that too utilizing the sweet Daccani Urdu language spoken in the Hyderabad regions.

Several research scholars are of the opinion that her life and times influenced the famous writer Mirza Hadi Ruzwa while writing this story about ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’. Chanda was a great devotee of the Sufi saint Maula Ali whose shrine is on top of a hill in the area Maula Ali in Hyderabad. She wished to be buried at the foot of the same hillock after her demise.

20th Century
Suravaram Pratapa Reddy
Golconda Kavulu by Suravaram Pratapa Reddy (May 28, 1896 - Aug 25, 1953) compiled a list of 354 Telangana poets to prove that Telangana also had literature and poetry.

Editor and founder of Golconda Patrika, a journal in Hyderabad State. Pratapaareddy was a scholar in Sanskrit, Telugu, Urdu and English languages. He had tremendous admiration for Telangana Telugu. He is famous for his research articles, novels, poetry, story writer, and literary critic.

Maqdhoom Mohiuddin
Besat E Raqs isa a collection of poems and ghazals by Maqdhoom Mohiuddin (Feb 4, 1908 – Aug 25, 1969 ) is a freedom fighter, an academic, a romantic poet and a revolutionary in his own right, Maqdhoom continues to be a favourite of every Urdu literature lover. Some of his Ghazals like ‘Ek Chameli Ke Mandwe Tale’ and ‘Phir Chidi Baat’ were tuned and became great hits as film songs in Hindi cinema.

Kaloji Narayana Rao Na Godava by Kaloji Narayana Rao (Sep 9, 1914 – Nov 13, 2002) is the first modern Telugu poet to write free verse, in this part of the country, Kaloji’s poetry (consisting of ten volumes) is a running commentary on the historical, socio political and cultural aspects of his time.

Na Godava it provides profound insights into the myriad issues and contradictions of his time his autobigraphical writing Idee Na Godava is historical and reflective. 

Mamidipalli Sambaiah (1915 - 1988), who is popularly known as Sambha Kavi, has been finally recognized by State government on the occasion of World Telugu Conference. In the name of the poet, a huge arch, Mamidipalli Sambha Kavi Thoranam, was erected near Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad. Sambha Kavi was born in Vemulawada 1915 and passed away in 1988. His famous writings in Telugu are Kunja Viharam, Maduravilasam and Dwipada Ramayanam.

He was an expert in vocal music as well. Significantly, famous writers like C Narayana Reddy learnt tips from Sambha Kavi. His works include Kaleshwara Mukteeshwara Suprabhatham, Vemulawada Suprabhatham and Jagadguru Aadishankara Suprabhatham. Sambaiah’s son Mamidipalli Rajanna expressed happiness that State government recognizing the services of his father. 

Dr. Biruduraju Rama Raju  (April 16, 1925 - February 8, 2010)
Folklore In The New Millennium by Biruduraju Rama Raju was the first PhD scholar from Osmania University in folklore studies. As a national research professor, he was equal to what M S Subbulakshmi was in Carnatic music and Ustad Bismillah Khan was to Hindustani music. In fact, all these three received the National research professorship from the government at the same time.

His numerous papers and literary works on the folklore of Telangana are now the most authentic reference points available to any research scholar.

Dasharathi Krishnamacharyulu Agnidhaara by Dasharathi Krishnamacharyulu (July 22, 1925 - Nov 5, 1987). This book is about the Telangana Armed Struggle against Nizams rule, in which young Daasarathi served as a revolutionary. Daasartathi wrote part of his book Agnidhara while he was in jail and completed it after his release. Agnidhara book that also contained the famous lines - Na Telangana, Koti Ratnala Veena, which later became inspirational in the separate State Movement.

Dr. Pakala Yasoda Reddy

Vanamamalai Varadacharyulu

Dr. C. Narayana Reddy

Seshadri Ramana Kavulu

Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao

Dr. Andesri

Gadiyaram Ramakrishna Sarma

Madireddy Sulochana

Tennati Sudhadevi

P.V. Narasimha Rao
A man of many interests, he likes music, cinema and theatre. His special interest lies in Indian philosophy and culture, writing fiction and political commentary, learning languages, writing poems in Telugu and Hindi and keeping abreast of literature in general.

He has successfully published ‘SahasraPhan’, a Hindi translation of late Shri Viswanatha Satyanarayana’s famous Telugu Novel ‘Veyi Padagalu’

‘Abala Jeevitam’, Telugu translation of late Shri Hari Narayan Apte’s famous Marathi Novel, “Pan Lakshat Kon gheto”,

He translated other famous works from Marathi to Telugu and from Telugu to Hindi, and published many articles in different magazines mostly under a pen name.

In his later life he wrote his autobiography, The Insider, which depicts his experiences in politics.

21st Century

Dr. Mudiganti Sujatha Reddy
Recently felicitated at the 2nd State Formation Day celebrations, Mudiganti Sujatha Reddy is a well-known literary personality in Telangana.

In an effort to bring out forgotten first-generation Telangana authors into limelight, she published a compilation called Tholinaati Kathalu which features stories by writers like Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rao and Edire Chenna Keshavalu.

Another Telangana-centric compilation by her is called Telangana Toli Taram Kathalu. Containing stories by various famous personalities like Madapati Hanumantha Rao, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Suravaram Pratap Reddy, this anthology flows in a chronological sequence.

Based on her Telugu University presentation on the topic Vyapara Samskrutilo Stree Chaitanyam, Sujatha Reddy published a book with the same title in 2002. This short story compilation revolves around how women need to don a new avatar to protect their identity, family, and the society in this mechanical age.

Nandini Sidharreddy

Gorati Venkanna

Suddala Ashok Teja

 

Sources

Balgoori, Raju. “JAINA CULTURE IN KARIMNAGAR DISTRICT, TELENGANA - A STUDY.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 74, 2013, pp. 167–77. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44158813. Accessed 20 Jun. 2022.

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/writers-poets-and-revolutionaries-forgotten-intellectuals-telangana-44374

http://www.metroindia.com/lifestyle/article/02/07/2016/unearthing-telangana-literature/33747

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2017/dec/16/palkuriki-somanathas-birth-place-to-be-developed-as-tourist-spot-1728711.html

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Dokra or Dhokra Metal Craft

Dokra Metal craft is quite popular in the tribal regions of Telangana. Dhokra or Dokra also known as bell metal craft is a tribal metal craft widely seen in Jainoor Mandal, Adilabad District of Telangana.

Dhokra is an ancient bell metal craft practiced by the Ojha metal-smiths of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Telangana – the style and workmanship of the artisan community being different in different states.

In Telangana, the Ojha artisans are also known as Wojaris or Ojjis who create brass metal art objects using the tedious but perfect lost wax technique while casting the metal.

The Dokra artifacts are made in brass and are unique in that the pieces do not have any joints. The method is by combining metallurgical skills with wax techniques employing the lost wax technique, a unique form where mould is used only once and broken, making this art the only one-of-its-kind in the world. 

The 100 Ojha families, a sub tribe of the Raj Gond Adivasis found in Keslaguda, Ushegaon and Jamgaon of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district and Tamsi mandal of Adilabad district, manufacture brass metal items using the lost wax technique since centuries. The artisans traditionally manufacture only items like lamps and bells of different sizes used by the Raj Gonds and Kolam tribe in agriculture and religious activity. 

A minor resurgence of Adivasi culture witnessed in the old undivided Adilabad district has provided scope for the traditional Ojha artisans to indulge in creativity. Due to the phenomenon ensuring good sales during the Dandari-Ghusadi festival gone by and also holding out the promise of the trend to continue in the religious season ahead, the Dhokra brass metal artisans are making artifacts which they had discontinued to produce since about three decades.

The artisans make bronze and brass objects using the casting technique called dhokra,where a clay model is the core,over which,wax threads are wrapped around to form a layer.This is again covered with yet another layer of clay which has an opening. Molten bronze or brass is poured into this opening, which melts the wax completely, replacing it with brass or bronze. The cast object needs the outer mould to be broken each time.

In Adilabad district, places like Ushegaon and Chittalbori are the main contributors of this art. What catches your eye in this beautiful craft is that each piece is different from the other.

The craft produces objects like figurines, tribal gods, etc.

This work has good demand both in the domestic and international market due to its aesthetic look and primitive simplicity. The work consists of folk motifs, peacocks, elephants, horses, measuring bowl, lamp caskets and other simple art forms and traditional designs.

There are many families in Adilabad district dedicated to this ancestral craft, which is a labor-intensive work.

Very often, the artisans take up only order based work with an advance. The purchase of raw materials would require an initial expenditure beyond their means, more so if the end products do not sell. Dhokra is a very labour intensive as making of a simple piece could consume 4-5 days while more complicated designs could take upto 2-3 weeks. The designs are usually traditional, though they are known to make contemporary designs on demand. The characteristic pieces include slender and elongated metal figurines, folk motifs, elephants, peacocks, horses and household articles like measuring bowls and lamps The unique feature of a dhokra artefact is that the pieces do not have any joints. The entire object is handcrafted with the final product that has a distinct texture depending on the wax strips used in its design.

Things have recently started looking up for the Ojhas of Adilabad as they have tapped into their local markets comprising of the Gond tribal homes and their seasonal jatras or fairs. The idols of local deities – Jangubai, Bheemalpen and Persapen are most popular as are other items used in worship. The study of their return to local markets is unique in the lives of all artisan communities.

Typically dhokra objects cost between Rs.300 -500.

Contact:
Bhujang Rao Ojha: +91 94-92-428293 [Keslaguda, Kerameri mandal]
Indrajeet Ojha: +91 9652950224 [Belsari Rampur village in Tamsi mandal]


Sources
http://www.telanganatourism.gov.in/partials/about/arts-crafts/dokra-metal-crafts.html
https://floatstheboat.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/adilabad-dhokra/

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Charminar

The Charminar is a monument and mosque, located in Hyderabad,

Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591 CE, by the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah The landmark has become a global icon of Hyderabad, listed among the most recognized structures of India.

The Charminar is situated on the east bank of Musi river. To the west lies the Laad Bazaar, and to the southwest lies the richly ornamented granite Makkah Masjid.

It is listed as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official "List of Monuments" prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India under the The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.

The English name is a translation and combination of the Urdu words Chār and Minar or meenar, translating to "Four Towers"; the eponymous towers are ornate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches.

It is widely accepted that charminar was built at the center of the city, to commemorate the eradication of plague", a deadly disease which was wide spread at that time. as Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah had prayed for the end of a plague that was ravaging his city and vowed to build a Mosque at the very place where he prayed.

The Charminar is a square structure with each side 20 meters (approximately 66 feet) long, with four grand arches each facing a fundamental point that open into four streets. At each corner stands an exquisitely shaped minaret, 56 meters (approximately 184 feet) high, with a double balcony. Each minaret is crowned by a bulbous dome with dainty petal-like designs at the base. Unlike the Taj Mahal's, Charminar's four fluted minarets are built into the main structure. There are 149 winding steps to reach the upper floor. The structure is also known for its profusion of stucco decorations and the arrangement of its balustrades and balconies.

The structure is made of granite, limestone, mortar and pulverised marble. Initially the monument with its four arches was so proportionately planned that when the fort was opened one could catch a glimpse of the bustling Hyderabad city, as these Charminar arches were facing the most active royal ancestral streets.

There is also a legend of an underground tunnel connecting the Golla konda fort to Charminar, possibly intended as an escape route for the Qutb Shahi rulers in case of a siege, though the location of the tunnel is unknown.

A mosque is located at the western end of the open roof; remaining part of the roof served as a court during the Qutb Shahi times. The actual mosque occupies the top floor of the four-storey structure. A vault which appears from inside like a dome supports two galleries within the Charminar, one over another, and above those a terrace that serves as a roof, bordered with a stone balcony. The main gallery has 45 covered prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more people for Friday prayers.

The clock on the four cardinal directions was added in 1889. There is a vazu (water cistern) in the middle, with a small fountain for ablution before offering prayer in the Charminar Mosque.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charminar

Image By Sumeetrajendrabhavsar - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21479163

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Armoor Rock Formations

Armoor or Armur is a town located in Nizamabad District in Telangana State. Armoor is situated on NH-44 (Hyderabad-Nagpur section) and NH-16 (Nizamabad-Jagdalpur section).

Armoor is a natural stopover for the traffic on the highway. This site boasts of hillock of boulders, resultant of natural weathering over 1.45 billion years. 

Navanatha Siddeswara Temple is sited on top of the hill. According to the folklores, Navanathas or Siddhas (revered sages) still reside in the natural caves of these hillocks. A gorge nearby is believed to have curative properties in its waters.

Hillocks with unusual rock formations known as Armoor Rock Formation, located on the NH-16, are the biggest draw here. The rock formations are a result of natural weathering of the rocks over millions of years. It seems as if nature is revealing its artistic expression with these unique rock formations.

Also known as Navanathapuram, Armoor is known as an agricultural town. It is famous for its huge turmeric cultivation and commercial seeds like sorghum and pearl millet.


Operating Hours: Mon-Sun : 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Address:Armoor, Nizamabad, Telangana.

Period Built:Formed 1.45 Billion Years Ago

Art Forms:Natural Formation

Entry Fee:Rs. 25/-

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Nirmal Rural Tourism

Nirmal is a city and the district headquarters of Nirmal district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is famed for its toys made out of wood. Nirmal paintings and Nirmal Toys (Wooden Handicrafts) and Nirmal Furniture are named after the town of Nirmal in Telangana.

Geographical Indication (GI) tag

Nirmal Toys and Crafts and Nirmal Furniture got Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2009

Nirmal town in Telangana has always been considered as the gifted land related to art and crafts. The art community of craftsmen in this town are called as ‘Naqash’ and they have made this region, quite famous for the Nirmal paintings. The paintings capture rustic ethos to splendid royal environment, and right from flora to fauna, there are an explicit array of beautiful expressions which are portrayed in myriad colours and attractive forms on Nirmal products.

This town is very acclaimed for the Nirmal artistic creations and toys. From the natural ethos to the regal condition, from verdure to fauna, an unequivocal exhibit of articulations is depicted in horde hues and structures on Nirmal items.

Nirmal town has gotten interchangeable with lovely artistic creation everywhere throughout the world and involves pride for Telangana. Nirmal artists additionally make lacquered furniture, boxes, bowls, huge screens, plate, toys, and pictures, which are painted with artfulness and meticulousness.

Frames, shields and corporate gifts, nameplates, utility things create the scope of items.There are artworks done even on the entryway, divider embellishment and so on.The artistic creations are skilled as gifts and are considered as glad belongings by admirers of craftsmanship and workmanship authorities.

Painters and experts from all over India visit Nirmal to purchase these works of art, as well as exploring the procedure wherein the artworks, are done, directly from the readiness of the solicit to the extraction of natural hues and style of painting.

Most of the Nirmal Paintings consist of traditional art scenes drawn from the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, influenced by other schools of art from earlier times like Kangra, Ajanta and also Mughal miniatures. This art form received great patronage during the Mughals and the Nizams too. There are many colours used in Nirmal Paintings, and most of them are derived from natural sources. The motifs used are quite popular with attractive finish on the canvass. Birds are depicted very attractively and the world-class export quality of these paintings has earned wide recognition and rewards. Lepakshi Handicrafts offers Nirmal paintings at reasonable prices. These are ideal to decorate your drawing rooms and they can also be gifted as cherished souvenirs.

The evolution of this Nirmal art and craft can be traced back to old days of Kakatiya dynasty. This craft is a form of lacquered woodwork that was born in Nirmal town and since then, this art has remained an attraction through all these ages and now days it is made both in Nirmal town and Hyderabad. The motifs used are frescoes from Ellora and Ajanta and Mughal miniatures, and floral designs

During all these years, Nirmal work has evolved to cater to the new needs. Besides the wall hangings, Nirmal craftsmen also crafted exquisite lacquered furniture, large screens, boxes, bowls, trays, toys, and pictures. Assortments of decorative and utilitarian articles are crafted in Nirmal art style. 

The master craftespersons of Nirmal originally made gold colour from the juices of herbs. The paintings are in gold on dark backgrounds and are remarkably attractive. Popular items include jewellery and ornament boxes made of poniki wood, food tray covers, playing cards, ganjifa boxes and many more items. A large variety of products, wall plaques, furniture, screens, panels, , bowls, lamp stands trinket boxes, and ashtrays, are made.

Nirmal toys are copies of natural forms and artists only make animals and birds. Poniki wood is used for small products and teak wood for larger items. Wall plaques with painted flying birds are also common, as are brightly colored depictions of fruits, vegetables, and animals.

Creation of Nirmal Paintings

The technique involves lacquering the wood surface and then painting the precise design. The conventional designs can be traced and drawn in chalk on any composition board or smoothened wood and then painted in bright and flat colors while are often touched up with gold and finally varnished.

The organic colors used are made from herbs, gums, and minerals. The gold which is found in this work is extracted from herbal juices. The Painting of mughal miniatures on white wood ponki is very attractive. As these items age, they acquire an exquisite muted glow which is simply impeccable. 

Tella Poniki tree
In initial days, white wood of Tella Poniki tree was utilized as a painted board for painting, which is fascinatingly exceptional.With changes over numerous years, the craftsmen acquainted Indian teak wood due with its delicate grain surface, quality, and lightweight and life quality.mConventional structures are followed or attracted chalk on smoothened wood or creation board and are painted in level, splendid hues and frequently finished up with gold and afterwards stained. When the artistic creations are finished, clear splash is utilized on the frames for water opposition and radiance.The Nirmal painting of Mughal miniatures is profoundly alluring.With maturing, they obtain an exceptional quieted shine that is viewed as perfect.

Tools and Raw Materials

1. Teak wood is used to create a frame of the painting.
2. Oil paints for adding the colour to the painting.
3. Paintbrushes as a tool to fill colour to the painting.
4. Spray paints to be used after the painting is finished as protection from the water and to add shine.
5. Varnish spray for a glossy effect.
6. Luppa paints to prevent colour absorption when oil paint has been used on the surface of the wood.
7. Enamel paints replaced natural paints.
8. Wood sheets of different sizes in the form of base planks.
9. Drilling machine to drill the holes.
10. Cutting machine to cut big pieces into small.

Procedure

1. Initially, the wood is cut into the required size and a rectangular casing is made. 
2. The casing is smoothened utilizing sandpaper. The edge is additionally covered with a few layers of Luppam paint.
3. Luppam Paint (NC Patti) is covered on the rectangular moulded wood load up for around 5 to multiple times.
4. This paint assimilates the dampness from the wood and causes the wood to keep going for a long time.
5. In the wake of applying Luppam paint, different hues are utilized for painting the foundation.
6. At long last, the readied wooden board is joined to the edge.
7. As a rule, the board sizes are of 8/11, 17/11 and 24/16 measurements.

How is the frame prepared

1. Prior to painting, the craftsmen create a frame of various sizes according to the assessed size of conclusive paint to be painted.
2. Luppa Paint (NC Patti) is covered on the wood board that is of the rectangular shape around 5 to multiple times.
3. This paint retains the dampness from the wood and causes the wood to keep going for long. 
4. Post application of Luppa paint dark paint is sprayed for the foundation.
5. Initially, the wood is cut into the required size and a rectangular frame is made.
6. The frame is smoothened utilizing sandpaper.
7. The casing is additionally covered with a few layers of Luppa paint.

Nirmal toys are made from extract of herbs which provides them with a golden sheen. They are generally models of human occupations, fruits, and animals. There are many similarities amid the Kondapally and Nirmal toys as they are made from the same kind of wood during their manufacturing process.
But the Kondapally toys are generally coated with plain water colors whereas the Nirmal toys are particularly embellished with oil paints. Both these kinds of toys are treated with special tamarind paste in the primary stage before they are painted.

The prominent difference amid these is that after treating, the complete Nirmal toy is covered with fabric, rather than lime blue which are used for Kondapally toys.

Where to Shop in Hyderabad
Lepakshi Handicraft Emporium situated in Gun Foundry of Hyderabad and Minerva Complex on S.D. Road of Secunderabad.

Kalanjali Arts and Crafts Nampally in Hyderabad

The crafts museum Calcutta emporium which lies behind the lepakshi gun foundry in Hyderabad

Central cottage industries emporium in Minerva complex, on S.D. road in Secunderabad.

Cauvery Karnataka state Arts and Crafts emporium which lies in the seven hills plaza on S.D. Road Secunderabad.





https://hindikrafts.com/nirmal-painting/

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Kondapur Museum

Kondapur Museum (Late.17.33' N 78.1'E) is located on a small hillock about one km south of the village of Kondapur in Medak District, Telangana, around 70 kms from Hyderabad.

It is a Pre-Satavhana site dating back to 200 BC - 200 AD.
Capital of Mahisamandala
Discovered a 25-ft high mound spread over 100 acres which they presume to be a Buddhist stupa with myriad segments throwing light on the Buddhist link of the present Telangana region. 

One of the fortified urban settlements of Satavahanas. 


Proved to be an important kshetra of Brahmanical faith particularly Sakti cult of that time which was clearly shown through the exposed structures and other associated findings such as coins and sealings. 

The excavation yielded a large number of glass vessels indicating Roman influence that indicate the existence of a separate settlement of Romans in Kondapur who had brisk contact and trade with India. 

If a stupa is unearthed as hoped by the ASI, this will be the first Buddhist site in Telangana, firmly establishing the belief among historians that this region too was part of the Satavahana empire that extended into present Maharashtra and that Kondapur, indeed, was a city that had a direct connection with Paithan.

The stupas found elsewhere in the State, barring the Amaravathi ones, occupied smaller extents. 

The exhibits from this museums are basically retrieved from an ancient mound locally known as Kotagadda (Fort Mound) located at a distance of one km east of the museum.

Nearly 2,000 coins and many coin-moulds, ornaments made of gold and semi-precious stones, beads and terracotta figurines have been recovered from the surface area itself. 

A valuable find was a gold coin of the Roman king Augustus.

The historians’ team is of the view that ancient Kondapur city was larger than Amaravathi skirted by a mud-fort. 

A lake that possibly served the city as its water source, lies now by the side of the mound. 

While the fort’s mud-wall is visible even now, most of the other remains of the city lie buried under the earth, as a result of the earthquakes and catastrophes through ages.

Any excavation of the agricultural fields that covered these remains now, are sure to reveal different facets of the buried city, says Mr. Das.

Several structural remains have already been identified, some of them belonging to Chaitya halls/monasteries. 

Furnaces, floors, workplaces and storerooms have also been discovered indicating a rich industrial past. It is assumed that ceramic industry thrived in ancient Kondapur.

The site was first explored by the famous Archaeologist Mr. Henry Cousens in the early years of the 19th Century. Subsequently the Department of Archaeology of the erstwhile Hyderabad State under H.E.H. the Nizam of Hyderabad excavated this mound for a couple of seasons from 1940. A small museum was established with the excavated material over the ancient site itself which was later shifted to the present building. The museum came under the administrative control of Archaeological Survey of India in 1952.

The Archaeological Museum, Kondapur houses a rich collection of minor antiquities unearthed from the digs of 1940-1942. The museum has a Central hall and two more galleries in enclosed corridors.

In the main hall a good number of antiquities are displayed in wall showcases representing different facets of material culture of the early historic period such as pottery, terracotta figurines, bone and shell objects, metal objects, talismans, pendants, beads, inscribed pottery and coins etc. brick tiles, sharpening stones, moulded bricks and designed panels.

In the other galleries, prehistoric tools and fossils are exhibited. Apart from these objects, a couple of sculptures, a Buddhapada, a standing image of four handed Vishnu carved on a door jamb and two inscribed storage jars are other attractive pieces in this gallery.

Entrance Fee Rs.2/- for visitors above 15 years
Museum Hours 1000 A.M. to 0500 p.m.

Free entrance to children below 15 years.
Museum remain closed on Friday

http://asi.nic.in/asi_museums_kondapur.asp
http://www.panoramio.com/user/6860561/tags/kondapur%20museum
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/historical-site-discovered-at-kondapur/article1177396.ece

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Perini Shivatandavam

Perini Shivatandavam (Perini Sivatandavam) or Perini Thandavam is an ancient dance form originated and prospered in Telangana during the Kakatiya dynasty.Perini is performed by males and it is believed that in ancient times this was performed before the soldiers set to war.

Nataraja Ramakrishna was the person who revived this art form recently. Perini Dance form was developed at the time of Ganapathi deva, the king of Kakatiya Empire.The Perini Thandavam is a dance form usually performed by males. It is called 'Dance of Warriors'. Warriors before leaving to the battlefield enact this dance before the idol of Lord Śiva (Shiva). The dance form, Perini, reached its pinnacle during the rule of the 'Kakatiyas' who established their dynasty at Warangal and ruled for almost two centuries.

The Perini Thandavam, Telangana It is believed that this dance form invokes 'Prerana' (inspiration) and is dedicated to supreme dancer, Lord Siva. One can find evidence of this dance in the sculptures near Garbha Gudi(Sanctum Sanctorum)of the Ramappa Temple at Warangal.

Perini is a vigorous dance done to the resounding beats of drums. Dancers drive themselves to a state of mental abstraction where they feel the power of Siva in their body. While dancing they invoke Siva to come into him and dance through him. The Perini Thandavam is indeed believed to be the most invigorating and intoxicating male dance form.

Perini dance form almost disappeared after the decline of the Kakatiya dynasty but Padmasri Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna brought renaissance in Perini dance, which was on verge of extinction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perini_Shivatandavam

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Thousand Pillars Temple

The magnificent temple of the thousand pillars at Hanamkonda is one of the most important parts of the Warangal City. The temple was constructed in the 1162 - 1163 AD by the great Prataparudradeva I/ Rudradeva and the deity is Rudreshwara Swamy, a personification of Lord Shiva.

The temple has an old and long history and dates back to the Chalukyan era. Constructed in the 1163 AD by Rudra Deva, Thousand Pillar Temple in Hanamkonda is one of the finest specimens of Kakatiya architecture and sculp- ture. The temple depicts the typical Chalukyan style of architecture.
While the gopuram (tower) was tragically knocked down by vandal invaders, the main structure itself has managed to survive the test of time. The pillars of the temple in particular are known for their detail, design, and resplen- dent polish.

The temple base is a star shaped with three shrines devoted to Rudradeva (Siva), Vasude- va (Vishnu) and Surya (Sun). Siva’s shrine faces east and other shrines face south and west. 

On the fourth side is Nandi. Adding to the unique- ness, the Nandi in the Thousand Pillar temple looks east, unlike most Nandis in Indian temples that look west facing Lord Siva. 

The main deities are arranged in square sanctums fronted by an antarala leading to a common natya mantapa with a long portico entrance from the south. Between the temple and the portico entrance from the pavilion, houses a huge monolithic Nandi made of black basalt open to the sky. Behind the Nandi, there existed a splendid edifice, a hall of columns, nearly 300 in number called the Kalyana Mandapam. Though there are sup- posed to be 1000 pillars in the building complex, yet no pillar obstructs a person standing at any point of the temple from viewing the deity in the other temple.

Every part of the temple depicts the typical Chalukya style of architecture. The Thousand Pillar temple has three presiding deities, Lord Vishnu, Shiva and Surya Deva. The temple stands as a statement of the finest of arts of the Kakatiyas. It is dedicated -to the god Rudra, the thunderer, who seems to have been the tutelary deity of the Kakatiyas, and contains, carved on a :square pillar in what is now an outlying portion of the temple, a long Sanskrit inscription "Mahamandaleshwara (‘l the great Lord ") Rudradeva, son of Prolaraia, Jagatikesarin Kakatiya, son and successor of Tribhuvana Betmaraja of Warangal.

The temple also contains another inscription of much later date, in Telugu, which commemorates the heroism of a Muhammadean general named Shitab Khan. The existence in a Hindu temple of an inscription written in a Hindu language in praise of a Muhammadan general

The sculptural beauty of the temple is a reminiscent of the rich cultural of heritage of Kakatiya Kingdom.

The intricate designs and carvings at the temple have always been a riddle to common public visiting the temple from different parts of the country and the world.

The super structure consists essential of stone columns and roof with plan dimensions of 31 m X 25m. All the pillars are carved out of coarse-grained porpheritic granite and dolerite.

The shrines have no deities except for a 'Lingam' in one of them. The huge granite Nandi, which is a splendid specimen of monolith. The Nandi figure measuring six feet in height presents itself in beautiful form with exquisitely chiseled ornaments and garlands.


The Thousand Pillar Temple perched elegantly on the slope of a hillock is one of the finest specimens showcasing the rich architectural legacy and skill in stone sculpting of the Kakati- ya Period. The rock-cut elephants on either side of the main shrine and the black basalt Nandi measuring about 6 ft in height, clearly brings out the fine carving skills of these craftsmen. Their mastery is evident from the richly carved pillars in the main temple.

This temple is one of the important tourist attractions in the city with most visitors of all the other tourist places. Almost on an average 1500-1600 visitors visit the temple every day.






Historic landmarks of the Deccan / by T. W. Haig

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Pandava Caves

Pandava Caves or Pandava Guttalu or Pandavaula Gutta is situated in Thirumalagiri village, Regonda Mandal, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Telangana, India.

This is where the Pandavas spent their life in exile for a certain period of time. A chain of hillocks running north-south direction located about 50 kms from Warangal, 195 kms from Hyderabad, on Warangal-Mahadevpoor road and 3kms from Regonda are familliarly known as Pandava Guhalu (Caves) or Pandava Guttalu (Hills).

The name is derived due to potrayl of the story of Pandavas of Mahabharatha on one of the boulders. The shelters are locally knowns as Mekkabanda, Mugessabanda, Pandi Parvatha, Shakthi Parvatham, Jyothi Parvatham, Puli Parvatham abd Yanadula Guha, Eduru Pandavulu, Kuntidevi, Pancha Pandavlu etc.

It is an unique Rock Art Site with continous human occupation right from prehistoric to Medieval times. There are a few natural paintings on these rocks, depicting the lifestyle and their hunting methods.

 The figures depicted in the paintings at these hills are of peacocks, lizards, tiger, frogs, fishes, deer etc.. and geometrical designs and impressions in green, red, yellow and white pigment colors. Besides these rock paintings, inscriptions of Rastrakutan times and fresco paintings of late medieval period have also been reported from these hillocks. Some of the paintings were superimposed, depicting highly developed anatomical features and curves.

Rock art is a form of landscape art, and includes designs that have been placed on boulder and cliff faces, cave walls and ceilings, and on the ground surface.

Warangal district consists of many Prehistoric habitation sites, which were explored by the Indian Archaeological authorities. Paleolithic Rock art paintings are found at Pandavula gutta (Regonda)

Its a global phenomenon, being found in many different regions of the world. Such artworks are often divided into three forms: petroglyphs which are carved into the rock surface, pictographs which are painted onto the surface, and earth figures engraved into the ground. The study of rock art gives us a good insight into our history from pre-historic ages.

The hill range derives its name ‘pandavula gutta’, from the historical paintings found in one rock shelter, which the local folk term as the story of Mahabharata. It is interesting to note that in the Ravulapalli village about 220 families belong to the ‘mudiraju’ caste, who claim their descent from the solar race of pandavas, and the gotra of some of the families is infact ‘pandava’.

Perhaps, the ancestors of the present day mudiraju caste during historical times might have coined the term pandavula gutta.

The site was discovered by Sri K.Ramakrishna Rao of the Dept. of Archaeology & Museums, Hyderabad. Nagi Reddy (1995, 1998) discussed to a certain extent the rock paintings of this site. During my field study I noticed 7 rock shelters in which paintings have been done.

The Site ‘Pandavula gutta’ a weathered coarse grained sand stone hillock, rises to a height of 150 m from the surrounding plains and runs in a north south direction, the height gradually receding towards south and culminates about 1 km east of Tirumalagiri village, which is 3 km from Ravulapalli. At the central portion of this hill range rock shelters are noticed both at the foot of the hill and on the plateau above and in the valley between. Of the seven rock shelters two are located at the foot of the hill and the remaing ones on the plateau region. The rock shelters at the foot of the hill contain only faint traces of red paintings. In one rock shelter locally known as ‘ongudu gundu’ (bending rock) along with traces of paintings microlithic scatters were noticed.

The tools, mostly non-geometric in content, were made on chalcedony, agate, chert, quartz and jasper.
The undulating hill range and the narrow valley is covered by thick vegetation of tropical dry ever green and deciduous forests. The forest cover sustain wild fauna in considerable numbers even today. 

The wild fauna used to include herbivores like Nilgai ( Boselaphus tragocamelus), Black buck ( Antilope cerpivora ), Wild sheep ( Civis cycloceros ), Hare ( Lapidum finidus ), Porcupine ( 

Histric indica ) etc., The carnivores include Sloth bear ( Melursus ursius ), Hyaena ( Hyaena hyaena ), Fox ( Velpes bengalensis )etc. 

The elderly people of the village informed that during their child hood (about 60 years ago) the forest was much dense and even tigers roared in the forest occasionally preying upon the domesticated cattle and sheep of their village. During the mesolithic times, the whole Regonda region must have been a dense forest.

Water resources at the site are almost perennial, bearing water upto 9 months in a year. There is a perennial spring on the top of the hillock locally known as ‘potaraju chelama’. Near one rock shelter, in a rock crevice locally known as ‘chirutangandu kunta’ water is stored throughout the year. A seasonal stream loca lly known as ‘panduvula vagu’ contain water in small pools upto the month of March. In these water pools even today wild rice ( Zizania aquatica : Dussa vari ) grow between August – January

The Rock shelters and the rock art
As said before two rock shelters at the foot of the hill contain only traces of paintings and one of them ‘ongudu gunda’, besides traces of paintings in red colour, revealed microliths also. The tool typology of the microliths indicate their non-geometric nature. 

Rock shelter 3 (Eduru pandvula gundu)
This rock shelter is located at the top of the hill facing west and gives a commanding view of the plains below. It measures roughly 20 x 20 metres and provides a shaded area of about 2 m infront. No floor deposit occurs in this rock shelter as the floor is of sheet rock gently sloping outwards. This rock shelter is locally called as ‘edurupandavula gundu’ (facing pandavas rock), as it is located infront of the foot path from the village.

This is the most densely painted rock shelter at this site. About 50 painted figures and several faintly visible ones are noticed. All the paintings were done in red ochre of different shades.

The theme of the rock paintings consist of herbivores mostly deer species. Other animals like langur, tiger, porcupine, mangoose, boar and fish. Besides these, anthropomorphs, human figures, a peacock, a boar, indeterminate animals geometric figures etc. are also found.

On the basis of state of preservation and superimpositions two phases can be delineated from the red paintings of this rock shelter. At the many places dark brownish red deer figures overlap, light brownish red, faded deer figures. In some of the paintings the artist appears to have tried to replicate the nearby previous painted figures. The figure of a boar is very stylistically depicted with rectangular designs over the body in dark brownish red colour. Behind it a deer figure in light brownish red colour is also done with the same type of body design.

Langurs are shown realistically with long tails.

The human figures are shown in various postures, standing near the animals and in praying posture. A row of 15 human figures hand in hand between the legs of huge deer figure (105 cm x 50cm) in a group dancing posture is a very interesting composition and is the only one of its kind in the rock art of Telangana.

The peacock figure in finely depicted with all the body details. Although a peacock figure is found in the Kethavaram (16 0 43’N;78 0 1 2’E) paintings (Chandramouli 1986) also it is small in size devoid of bodily details as seen in this figure. The mangoose is also finely depicted close to a natural crack in the rock, which gives the visual impression to an observer that the mangoose is trying to hide below the rock. Fish figures in the paintings of this rock shelter are exclusive to this site. Although a fish figure is found in the Kethavaram rock art also, stylistically they are different and also are done in black colour. In the depiction of the fish also, the attempt of the artist to replicate the previous ones as in the case of deer figures, is visible.

The anthropomorphs have stylistic similarity with those at Chintakunta and Kethavaram (Chandramouli 2002).The geometric figures are a few and consist of triangular shaped lines one over the other and criss – cross patterns etc.

Rock shelter 4 (Janke mukku gundu : long nose rock)
This rock shelter is located on the top of the hillock in a narrow valley behind rock shelter 3; to its north east about 300 metres away facing west. The local name ‘Janke mukku gundu’ (long nose rock) is given to this rock shelter because of two natural deep holes in the rock wall which look like nostrils of the nose. There are only 4 deer figures and one human figure in this rock shelter. All of them are in dark brownish red colour, except one small dog figure, which is faded and light brownish red in colour. The deer figures are similar to those in rock shelter 4.

Rock shelter 5 (Mungisa gundu : mangoose rock)
This rock shelter is located to the north east of rock shelter 4 about 800 metres away facing north. This rock shelter gives a commanding view of the plains below. It is an ideal rock shelter giving a shaded area of 5 metres all around. But only two faintly visible painted figures are noticed. One looks like a mangoose (hence the local name to the rock shelter) and the other animal is depicted as if trying to catch the mangoose by its neck. Both the painted figures are light brownish red in colour.

Rock shelters 6 & 7 ( Pandavula gundu; Kunthi gundu )
These rock shelters (by which this site is known) are located in the southern portion of the hill about 1000 metres away from the rock shelter 3. The first one faces east and the second one south. In the pandavula gundu rock shelter traces of red colour paintings are visible.

However, it is famous in the surrounding villages for the fresco panel of historical paintings done in several colours on a lime mortor back ground. The villagers identify them as scenes of Mahabharata. But they are badly mutilated by fungus and also human vandalism. The kunthi gundu rock shelter on its southern face contain a series of negative hand prints in red colour.

There are more than 60 such hand prints. Besides these a 9 th – 10 th century AD label inscription
reading “Sri Utpatti pidugu” (Nagi reddy 1995) is also found. In side this deep and narrow came like rock shelter (one has to crawl on all four to reach the inner portion), two small stone sculptures of female deities are being worshipped even today. Several stone structures of historical times are found all around these rock shelters

https://www.academia.edu/29875866/Rock_art_of_Telangana_pdf

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