Sohrai Khovar Wall Art Wall Art

Sohrai Khovar Wall Art — 50 museum-grade prints on the theme. Khovar is the marriage wall art of Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand, combed by women of tribal and Kurmi communities onto the bridal chamber before a wedding, using a sgraffito technique — wet white kaolin slip over a dark base coat, combed and scratched away with a broken comb so the dark ground reads as line. Paired fish are a classic Khovar fertility motif, promising plenty and increase to the new household, alongside lotus and peacocks. Sohrai is a harvest-season wall art of Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand, painted by women of tribal and Kurmi communities to welcome cattle home after the rice harvest, around Diwali. Lac — the resin secreted by insects on plateau trees — is a forest produce of the region, softened over a flame and rolled into the bright red bangles worn at weddings and festivals. Khovar is the marriage and household wall art of Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand, combed by women of tribal and Kurmi communities using a sgraffito technique — a wet white kaolin slip over a dark base coat, combed and scratched away with a broken comb so the dark ground reads as line. The aripan (also called aripana or chowk) is the auspicious threshold floor drawing women lay at the door around harvest, Sohrai and weddings to welcome cattle, guests and fortune, often with a lit diya.

Updated 22 Jun 2026