Kaavad, a Rajasthani art form that combines mythology and family histories to tell stories.
“Stories can be found in various places in libraries, performance spaces, hidden rooms of old buildings, the crowded parts of a new city, and even the most deserted corners of the world.Sometimes, they can also be found in wooden boxes akin to cupboards with multiple doors, each of which depicts a different scene. Opening one door leads to the next, until you reach the very heart of the story. The protagonists of these stories are characters from mythology and local folklore, and this form of storytelling is called Kaavad.
A single performance of this art form is evidence enough for why it gained popularity half a century ago; it is performed in a sing-song manner, and it is open to interpretation both in terms of the words uttered and the paintings on the wooden box, which is also called a Kaavad. But this box isn’t merely a prop it is considered a shrine by those who practice this art and those who are its patrons.” article in First Post
Maya is a contemporary revival of the Kaavad, wherein artistic collaborators have blended the traditional form with modern ideas and sensibilities. Each aspect of Kaavad has been researched and finely recreated through thorough discussions, exchanges and sharing between representatives of different art forms.
It is a composition of finely threaded stories with various mythical characters set in different time and spaces, structured in ancient format of “KathaSaritaSagar”, of frame with-in a frame, where each story leads to a new story, creating a vast network of stories.
