Jatayu Cheriyal Mask – Hand-painted Telangana Folk Art kolam name board sealed under a clear coat

sealed under a clear coat

The peacock is associated with beauty

This single Aranmula-shaped frame carries exactly that image — a blue elephant draped in a patterned blanket of oranges

with the crown shape

Jatayu Cheriyal Mask – Hand-painted Telangana Folk Art kolam name board sealed under a clear coatJatayu appears in the Ramayana as the aged vulture king who tries to stop Ravana from abducting Sita, fighting until his wings are cut and he falls, mortally wounded, only to hold on long enough to tell Rama which direction Ravana had flown. It's one of the epic's more quietly devastating episodes an act of loyalty offered by a creature with no stake in the outcome beyond what's right and it's this figure that this Cheriyal mask, made in the village