Martial Wall Art

Martial — 2 museum-grade prints that set the mood. Mailara (Mailaralinga / Mailara Deva) is a pastoral folk-deity of the Deccan, venerated across Telangana and Karnataka and closely kin to Khandoba of Maharashtra — a god of shepherds and warriors, worshipped as a sword-bearing horseman accompanied by dogs. Cheriyal scrolls come from Cheriyal village in Telangana's Siddipet district, painted by the Nakashi artist community for specific caste and community patrons and unrolled by their balladeer-storytellers to recite the deity's legend and the community's genealogy. Kalaripayattu, practised in the kalari training pit, is among the oldest martial traditions of India, native to Kerala and combining strikes, leaps, weapons and a deep link to healing and devotion — training often begins with obeisance at the kalari's shrine lamp. This print sets a sword-and-shield bout inside bhitti chitra, Kerala's temple-mural tradition that flourished roughly from the 16th to 19th century and is still painted today: flat panchavarna pigments (red, yellow, green, black, white over an ochre or red ground), a bold lamp-black outline and the school's elongated lotus-shaped eyes.

Updated 22 Jun 2026