Folk and Art Map of Uttarakhand

In 1658, when Aurangzeb seized the Mughal throne, a Mughal prince named Suleman Shikoh fled to Srinagar, then the capital of the Pawar dynasty of Garhwal. He arrived with court painters, Shyam Das and Har Das, trained in the Mughal miniature tradition. After roughly nineteen months the prince departed, and according to local accounts his painters remained behind, drawn, it is said, by the landscape and the patronage of the Garhwal court. Whether by choice or circumstance, their settling in Srinagar introduced the Mughal idiom into the hill kingdom, and from this meeting of cultures the foundation of the Garhwal School of Painting was laid.

Over the following century, the style evolved as successive generations of artists absorbed new influences and developed a visual vocabulary distinctly their own. The pivotal figure in this evolution was Mola Ram (1743–1833), born in Srinagar, Garhwal, and recognised today as the defining master of the school. Mola Ram was not only a painter but also a poet, historian, and diplomat, a man whose intellectual range gave his paintings unusual depth and breadth of subject matter. He initially worked in the Mughal style but, after encounters with the Kangra school, developed what can genuinely be called Garhwali painting: a style marked by lyrical compositions, rich colour, and a particularly tender portrayal of women and romantic themes. As one of the finest expressions of the traditional art forms of Uttarakhand, his contribution remains unmatched.

Garhwal Paintings and Garhwal School of Painting

The subjects of Garhwal miniature paintings drawn from the Ramayana, Krishna Leela, the Mahabharata, and a series of Raginis reflect the same devotional spirit that runs through all of the folk art of Uttarakhand. What sets the Garhwal style apart is its emotional register: the fusion of religion and romance, the delicate oval faces, the blending of poetry with visual narrative. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi described the Pahari painters as masters who were fond of Krishna legends, marked by lyricism, sophistication, and an exquisite sense of colour and line.

A rich collection of Mola Ram's paintings is preserved today at the HNB Garhwal University Museum in Srinagar. Others can be found at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Bharat Kala Bhawan in Varanasi, and galleries across Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad, and Ahmedabad. It was only in 1968, when barrister Mukandi Lal published his landmark book Garhwal Painting through the Publications Division of the Government of India, that this extraordinary school received the wider recognition it deserved. The Uttarakhand cultural heritage map is incomplete without it.

Peeth: The Temple Art of Garhwal

Alongside its miniature tradition, Garhwal also carries a distinct ritual painting practice in the form of Peeth, a closely related counterpart to Kumaon's Aipan. Where Aipan gives the artist relative freedom over motif and composition, Peeth is more prescribed: it is a mural created specifically around the seating area of a deity, with each god or goddess requiring its own designated design. Made using a base of rice paste and coloured with natural dyes, Peeth paintings are found in temple spaces and domestic shrines across Garhwal, quietly performing their sacred function at every ritual and festival.

Image Source: India InCH

Together, Aipan and Peeth represent the two faces of the art and culture of Devbhoomi, one rooted in Kumaon, the other in Garhwal, both inseparable from the life of the mountains. They are among the most authentic expressions of the traditional crafts of Uttarakhand, carrying within them centuries of devotion, community memory, and an artistic instinct shaped entirely by the Himalayas.

Jaunsari Folk Traditions of Jaunsar-Bawar

The Jaunsar-Bawar region in the western foothills of Garhwal is home to a culturally distinct community whose folk traditions add yet another layer to Uttarakhand's artistic heritage. The Jaunsari people practise their own forms of ritual decoration, distinctive embroidery, and community craft that differ visibly from mainstream Garhwali and Kumaoni traditions. Their festivals, costumes, and decorated household objects reflect a tribal aesthetic with roots in pre-Vedic practice, making this one of the most ethnographically significant corners of the art and craft map of Uttarakhand.

Himalayan Craft Traditions: Art Rooted in Nature

Ringal Bamboo Craft

Moving deeper into the forests of Uttarakhand, one encounters the traditional crafts of Uttarakhand shaped quite literally by the ecosystem. Ringal, a dwarf bamboo species native to the Himalayas, grows abundantly across the higher altitudes of both Kumaon and Garhwal, and local communities have long turned this plant into an extraordinary range of functional objects.

Ringal craftspeople weave the bamboo into baskets, storage containers, mats, and decorative objects using techniques passed down over generations. The craft is entirely eco-friendly, relying on a renewable forest resource and producing nothing that cannot return to the earth. As a living example of Uttarakhand's cultural heritage, Ringal weaving reflects a principle of sustainability that was built into mountain life long before it became a global conversation.

Wood Carving Traditions

Few things speak as directly to the art and culture of Devbhoomi as the extraordinary wood carving traditions found throughout Garhwal and Kumaon. Temples, traditional houses, and village meeting halls across the state are adorned with carved doors, windows, and pillars bearing floral scrollwork, mythological figures, and devotional symbols with a precision that is breathtaking in its detail.

Wooden Bowl in Driftwood craft by Suresh Pant

Driftwood and Root of Uttarakhand – Asia InCH – Encyclopedia of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The most celebrated examples of this craft appear in Garhwal's ancient temple architecture, where local artisans have carved stone and wood with equal fluency for centuries. Motifs include the lotus, divine animals, and images of Shiva and Vishnu rendered in deep relief. This tradition of Pahadi wood carving in Uttarakhand continues today, with artisans in mountain villages crafting intricate panels and household items that carry forward a very old visual grammar.

Textile Heritage of the Mountains

Thulma Wool Blankets

The textiles of Uttarakhand tell the story of a people adapting beautifully to altitude and cold. Thulma are traditional thick wool blankets handwoven from local sheep wool and used through the long Himalayan winters. Durable, warm, and often woven in earthy tones, Thulma blankets have been both everyday essentials and ceremonial gifts within mountain communities. They represent a quiet but deeply rooted thread in the textile heritage of Uttarakhand.

Thulma Blanket of Uttarakhand – Asia InCH – Encyclopedia of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Pashmina and Wool Weaving

Uttarakhand's wool weaving traditions also include handwoven shawls made on traditional looms by local artisans across both Kumaon and Garhwal. Known for their softness and warmth, these shawls reflect generations of skill in working with fine fibres sourced from mountain animals. The weaving process is unhurried and deliberate, with each piece carrying the character of its maker and the landscape it comes from. As part of the broader Uttarakhand handicrafts and folk art tradition, these textiles have seen increasing recognition and revival in recent years. Artisan cooperatives in districts such as Chamoli and Pithoragarh are particularly active in keeping these weaving traditions alive and connecting them with wider markets.

Pashmina Weaving of Uttarakhand – Asia InCH – Encyclopedia of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Metal and Jewellery Traditions

Tamta Copper Craft

Among the most historically significant of all traditional crafts of Uttarakhand is the Tamta tradition of copper and brass work, practised by the Tamta artisan community, particularly in the Almora district. For centuries, Tamta craftspeople have beaten copper into utensils, ritual vessels, and decorative objects used in homes and temple offerings throughout the region.

Tamta: Copperware Craft

The craft involves melting, casting, hand-shaping, engraving, and polishing, producing objects of both beauty and utility. The Tamta bazaar in Almora remains a living centre of this tradition, where copper water filters and ritual utensils have been traded since at least the sixteenth century. The craft today faces pressure from mass-produced alternatives, but efforts by artisan communities and cultural organisations to preserve it continue.

Traditional Silver Jewellery of Johar Valley

In the remote Johar Valley of Pithoragarh district, traditional silver jewellery forms an important part of community identity and ritual life. The ornaments worn here including nath (nose rings), hansuli necklaces, and anklets are crafted using ancient designs that have changed little over centuries. This silver craft is a striking example of how Kumaon folk painting traditions and material culture together form the visual and ceremonial fabric of everyday life in the mountains.

Folk Art in Rituals and Festivals

Art in Uttarakhand has never lived inside galleries or museums. It appears on festival mornings, at the entrance of a home prepared for a wedding, on the walls of a freshly whitewashed village house before Diwali. Aipan patterns are drawn afresh for every puja, every Harela, every birth and marriage. Handcrafted copper vessels carry offerings to temple shrines. Ringal baskets hold the harvest.

The festival calendar of Uttarakhand is essentially an art calendar. During Harela, one of the most beloved harvest festivals of the Kumaon region, homes are decorated with freshly drawn Aipan motifs welcoming the onset of the monsoon and giving thanks for the earth's abundance. The patterns chosen are deliberate: certain designs invoke Shiva and Parvati, others call for prosperity for the household, and still others mark the threshold between ordinary time and sacred time. This is Kumaon folk painting traditions functioning exactly as they were always meant to not as display but as practice.

Diwali in Uttarakhand carries its own distinct artistic character. Unlike the rangoli traditions seen elsewhere in India, the Aipan art of Uttarakhand is rendered in red ochre and white rice paste with a restraint and geometry that feels almost architectural. Women of the household take the most prominent role, moving through rooms and courtyards with practised hands, placing goddess footprints leading from the doorway inward as if tracing the path of Lakshmi herself into the home.

A Portal to Divine Energies: Lord Ganesha Aipan Photo Frame by Ruchi Nainwal