Nirmal Paintings-An Indigenous Art Tradition

The diversified religious and socio-cultural milieu of Andra Pradesh is best reflected in its handicrafts and paintings.Most of them prospered around the temples, courts, villages and tribal communities. Nirmal is a famous art tradition and can be traced back to the era

of the Kakatiya dyanasty.It also flourished under the royal patronage of the Nizams of Hyderabad .The hub of this art form is Nirmal town in Adilabad district of Andra Pradesh.The Nakash craftsmen create a wide range of products like painting, toys,decorative and

beautifully painted wooden articles furniture's, painted glassware, crockery etc. Nirmal paintings has scenes from the Hindu epics ,Mahabharatha and Ramayana.This unique art form which originated in the 14 th C is astonishing as simple materials locally available are transformed into exquisite crafts and articles of utility. The craftsmen use indigenous colours made from minerals, gum, herbs and vegetable dyes for colouring. They even produce gold covers from herbal extracts a secret dye manufacturing technique. Much experimentation has been conducted over the years by the painters and as a result several transformations has occurred over generations., Not only in techniques of painting, manufacture of dyes etc .,but it also led to secularization of art. The craftsmen today paint motifs in style of the old Indian schools .

Mughal miniatures are reproduced beautifully on soft white wood called Ponniki and is strengthened with coating of tamarind seed paste, fine muslin and pipe clay before being painted. Today the paintings are varied and cover all aspect of life from mundane to

royalty,flora and fauna and an array of expressions in bright delightful colours. The intricate designs, high quality paintings and rare artistry in Nirmal paintings reflects

India’,s rich artistic traditions