Let's open the Kaavad storybook

Q What inspired your book Kaavad Tradition of Rajasthan What was the aim behind this bookA The book is a result of my doctoral thesis on the subject The thesis was inspired by a question about the tradition itself what sustained it who were its practitioners and what importance did it have in their lives The book aimed to make the findings more accessible to a general audience who may also be interested to learn about a lesserknown tradition This may be the first book that discusses the tradition indepthA Kaavad is carried by the storyteller during his recitations Pic CourtesyNiyogi booksQ Has time affected the Kaavad traditionA Time affects every tradition and the Kaavad is no different The Kaavad makers have adapted to new patrons They make smaller Kaavads for tourists in various colours and on different themes Storytellers perform for their hereditary patrons as well as for urban audiences if invitedThe girl child and education Kaavad by Mangilal Mistry some Kaavad makers experiment with secular themes and contemporary issuesQ Is there a Kaavadlike tradition elsewhere in the worldA There are Kaavadlike shrinesobjects around the world but their form and objectives may not be the same We have seen examples from Bhutan Ethiopia see image ancient Egypt and in OrissaKaavads are made by the Basayati Sutars of Bassi Chittor for the Kaavadiya Bhat storytellers of Marwar Pics courtesyniyogi booksQ Tell us about the research for this project as well as the challenges along the wayA My fiveyear research involved getting to know the Kaavad community that included the makers the storytellers and their patrons I used an ethnographic approach to learning about them and their belief systems I travelled with them to their patrons and studied the performances in their natural settings I also spent time with the makers to understand how they made the Kaavad and how they taught their children In course of my research I made a documentary film about the community and the Kaavad performance I also collaborated with them to make two short animation films based on the stories they told fromthe KaavadQ Could you share a few interesting facts from the bookA What intrigued me about the Kaavad was how its design contributed to the objective of the performance In a seamless world of the real and the virtual the Kaavad serves to perform a pilgrimage for its patrons It is also why I call it a portable pilgrimage The turning of the panels the stories told along with the paintings and the recitation of the genealogies all create an experience of a pilgrimage Interestingly each patron is made to feel important through story For example a Jat patron is told he has descended from the jatas dreadlocks of Shiva and this is through a narrative Similarly the storyteller is the progeny of Shravan Kumar and the story reveals howQ What is the road ahead for the KaavadA The road ahead lies in the continued relevance of the Kaavad for its community so itrsquos hard to say how long will it last and if it will stay the same New communities artists designers urban storytellers are being formed that are interpreting the Kaavad for their communication purposes or creative expressionsNina Sabnani Author and ProfessorThis leaves the custodians out of the picture even as it creates a wider awareness about the object and the possibility of it surviving Our efforts have been to conserve the narratives along with the object in the form of animated films The future of the Kaavad hangs in the same space as so many other crafts and traditions in the country They will disappear unless they become relevant or important to the lives of people as they do or did for their patrons