Pabuji ki Phad

Pabuji ki Phad is a painted scroll devoted to Pabuji, the legendary Rathore hero of western Rajasthan. For pastoral communities, including the Rebaris, the phad becomes a sacred stage for an all-night telling of his story.

Painted by Joshi artists of Shahpura and Bhilwara, the phad unfolds as a world in itself: Pabuji at its centre, surrounded by companions, places, battles, and episodes from the epic.

At night, the bhopa (male priest singer) and bhopi (female priest singer) unroll the cloth between poles. To the sound of the ravanhattha (string instrument), the story is sung and revealed scene by scene, by lamplight, until dawn.

When a phad has served its ritual life, it is immersed in Pushkar Lake. It is not discarded, but returned to the sacred.