Traditional painters in Telengana, Andhra Pradesh are called Nakkash. They make paintings for story tellers in the region. They produce mythological paintings to meet the demands of the community of that region. These painters are mostly from the lower castes of the community. Traditional caste based groups of the painters from Jingor, Madu, Mera are known as caste groups of nakkash. Mythological paintings painted by them were used for story telling accompanied with musicians.
Painted scrolls were used as visuals to illustrate the story sequence. The story telling session s often carried on every night for a full week. The theme and content of the scroll was given by particular community for which the session was arranged based on the prevailing myths and legends. Mostly the themes are Kanapulla varn-narration of birth of Padmasale or weaver community of Andra Pradesh. Markandeya puran Addapollan depicts the origin of Magali caste group, a Brahmin caste group.
These story tellers who belonged to lower castes. . The story tellers also went to the Nakkashis and got patts painted. Nakkashi paint the story in 40 or 50 parts. They painted beautiful themes in vigorous and sensitive colours in one part of the scroll to attract attention of the common folk. The patt paintings took a year or so to be completed. They used their own troupe of musicians and made use of scrolls as visual aids to relate the origin of their caste, development and existence of their home deity in story telling sessions. The traditional drum, ghungrus(–) and harmonium players of their caste accompanied the story teller. The sweetness of musical instruments, sound melodies, songs, deft depiction of patt highlighted the glory of their ancestral history, honourable professions and reverence for the society. In return they got some money, clothes and food for their performance. They moved from village to village and related tales.
Like the artists of pata these painters too, are abandoning their profession for economic prosperity in other fields. Those who still continue are mostly localised in a particular region, maintain a kind of interest in art forms alive on the folk level. Drawing and painting are their ancestral occupation.
