On a Scroll: The Cheriyal Story

If you ever walk into Sai Kiran Dhanalakota’s home in Hyderabad, the first thing you notice is the colour. Brushes, half-finished scrolls, wooden masks drying in the sun — all part of a fading world that his family has kept alive for generations. Cheriyal painting isn’t just an art form here; it’s how stories were once told. Before cinema, before books in every hand, wandering storytellers would carry long painted scrolls made by families like his, singing epics from one village to another.