Kavad Craft – Souvenir from Rajasthan, a Box of Stories
When I travel I always tend to pick up a few souvenirs, nothing unusual, I am sure you do too. Sometimes it is confusing what to pick, but in Rajasthan I found myself confused over what not to pick. The wide range of knickknacks, souvenirs and keepsakes I saw in the different cities of Rajasthan was astounding, all within a reasonable price range too!
Souvenir Kavad from Rajasthan
One bright little thing that caught my eye was the Kavad, a portable temple made of wood. They are one of the oldest interactive story telling tool.
I held one in my hand, a colorful story telling box. It was very light to hold and measured less than ‘one foot by one foot’ in dimension. There were doors waiting to be opened, small little doors with what looked like angelic forms painted on them.
I open them only to see folded doors again. I keep on unfolding them one after the other and the painted panels open up on either side.
The first door that I had opened is now behind one of the open panels.
“If you observe carefully, there are different stories in the panels in either side,” said the sales guy of kavad as I stared at it in amazement! “It is like a book, a painted shrine” he stressed. I folded the doors and unfolded them again. Yes, stories of Lord Krishna on one side and stories of Lord Rama on the other.
The last door of Kavad conceals the supreme deities: Ram, Lakshman and Sita or Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Shubhadra.
When professionals tell stories through these kavads, they expect you to drop some money in the donation box below the temple. The small box is in the lower part of the portable temple.
A kavad costs just Rs.250! Will it provide at least a one time meal to the artisan and his family?
I didn’t have the heart to bargain. I picked up this piece in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. They are also available at exhibitions of Rajasthan hosted by other states.
Interested in souvenirs? See more in my collection – Souvenir.
Kavad History
Kavad is made of Mango or Seasame wood, by the wood carvers of Bassi a small town 25 kilometers north-east of Chittorgarh. Men make these, small box like, temples with hinged doors; women paint them with stories from epics.
They were the tools of professional bards, known as Kavadia Bhatts, who traditionally traveled from village to village. They chant the tales of epics keeping alive the 400 years old tradition.
There are mentions that this art is said to be about 2000 yrs old! This form of story telling has existed from the time of King Vikramaditya of Ujjain.
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(Updated post. This was first published on Feb 12, 2009.)
Such a beautiful Souvenir it is! Colors and design, every single thing is so beautifully crafted. 🙂
A beautiful portable temple. Loved the vibrant colors.
The Kavad looks amazing.
Thanks for sharing dear 🙂
Looks so cool! Didn’t know it was a temple , I only knew it as a story telling tool.
Nice one.
Unique and interesting.
A very artistic one too. 🙂 Great find.
Well written and easy to understand for a newbie (as I’ve read this stuff first time).
It looks very beautiful. I have not seen this on my Rajasthan visit. Well, I will surely look for it when ever I go back. Thanks for sharing.
This is something very new to me. Thanks for sharing the details 🙂
Such a beautiful souvenir !! I really loved the concept of folding doors and stories on it.
It looks epic cool! Never came across it myslf!
ohh wow these are very pretty..a nice thing to have
Beautiful art form and souvenir Indrani! Thank you for sharing this.
It is so aesthetically pleasing. The souvenir looks beautiful 🙂
Have been there in Chittorgarh and in Bassi too but never heard about it . what a beautiful souvenir.
Very innovative souvenir. Very fascinating.
interesting Post !
I started looking at first picture and was like ok..hmm ..souvenir…. and when I go on scrolling it kept opening new folds lol.. nice post… My souvenir post ia also coming.. scheduled it.
Lovely souvenir. We had been to Rajasthan.But we didn’t see this souvenir.
Cheers,
Sriram & Krithiga
Awesome. Never heard of it TFS
I found this blog post while searching for Bassi Chittorgarh Handicrafts. Last november I was in Pushkar and picked up a Kavad for Rs.300. It was something I've never seen before and was so fascinated by its origin. Then I saw that the thing has a seal of Bassi Arts and Crafts on its back and so I started googling hoping I'd find some content about it. And I did. Thanks for this post. I am so tempted to visit Bassi now.
Sanjukta
truly amazing!
A portable temple….. pretty useful to a religious lady on the move..!!
this is such a beautiful souvenir. once we buy it i guess we will keep it like almost forever 🙂 as a decorative piece
A treasure indeed!! What intricate work to take the time to paint the story and carve this wonderful piece. I would also say a perfect find!
Wonderful form for a book to take, I love unfolding things.
such a nice description.surely kudos to you.anyways you have been tagged by me.if you having time kindly go through my latest post..
gud day then….
Simply fantastic- both the pictures and the narration.
What an interesting souvenir!
My dining room table is made out of mango!
Thanks for visiting my PSF
Very intriguing souvenir, one you can be proud to show to friends. I haven’t seen one of these kavads before.
that is really interesting – I have never seen a kavad before…just last week i was told about a friends daughters wedding there – all dhoom dhaam bits of it..one hell of a place. I have been only to some parts of rajasthan, myself.
Hi Indrani!
So, everybody was busy with Valentine’s Day, nobody paid attention to Rajasthan? Great mistake… ;))
Have a great Sunday!!
Blogtrotter
Wow! but then even I wish they are being compensated fairly for their talent.
This is very interesting.
I have heard of triptyches and seen some,too, which are basically like this – multi panelled ones are called polyptyches – into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and folded. The purpose is the same – mostly religious art.
Very nice that you bought it.
Wow ! Lovely design. But, I wonder what you will put there 🙂
amazing!
the detailing on the Kavad is simply amazing
What a great souvenir!
What a great find! Thanks for the history behind them as well. I always learn something when I drop by.
That is a great souvenir.Perfect choice.
This is great! I’ve never seen anything like it before.
Beautiful just beautiful. It’s amazing what you can find in another countries. When I lived in Paraguay there is a town where this special kind of lace is made. It’s beautiful and delicate and cost so little. I felt like I wanted to pay more for it because there was nothing else like it.
fantastic work, wonderful details. this is a very interesting souvenir
What a wonderful souvenir. The craftmanship is amazing. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Looks so colourful and so very Indian !!
beautifully narrated tooo !
A very lovely piece and by the look of it quite a bit of work has gone into the making of it.
very COOL find!! (I’m with you on the bargaining . . . )
That’s a lovely souvenir. I wish the artisans benefit more from their handwork…
Very interesting! I love souvenirs as well. One of my favorite things about a trip is the shopping.
What a fascinating find!!!
You always have the best international pictures. 🙂
Hi Indrani! Love this one. I wanted to bring one similar, but was discouraged to do so because it wouldn’t be easy to carry in the plane… Next time I’ll make it…
Also interested in Rajasthan? Blogtrotter has it! 😉 Enjoy, comment and have a great weekend!
You have been posting some great things. The City of Lakes is fascinating.
The little temples are nice. I have never heard of using Sesame wood. That is exotic to me.
A lovely thing, bot in how is looks, and what it’s for – and your description only enhanced it!
I love souveniers and such interesting ones filled with folk lore that speak so much of our heritage..
Even I collect souvenirs like this one.
The price was very less considering the work it has.
Yes, the Kavadias travel from one place to other on foot.