The National News

Kinnal Art – keeping the tradition alive

Spread the love

Santoshkumar Chitragar, a craftsman from Kinnal is using the power of social media, especially Instagram to keep his craft relevant.

A craft form that enjoyed the patronage from the royal Vijayanagara Empire and the Nawab of Koppal as well. The artists belong to a community called Chitragars and essentially make figurines of gods and goddesses.

Kinnal is near Hampi, located about 50 km from the UNESCO World Heritage site whose ruins are renowned across the world.

Santoshkumar Chitragar, a craftsman from Kinnal
Santoshkumar Chitragar, a craftsman from Kinnal

The small village of Kinnal is home to the the artisans including Santosh whom I met and spoke to for this story.

Santosh works with help from his family, parents and brother as well as help from three boys whom he is training. His Instagram success is encouraging more people to take on the craft.

Read the full story that first appeared in The National News here:

8 thoughts on “Kinnal Art – keeping the tradition alive

  1. Hi I am pursuing project on kinnal art (CCRT, Ministry of Culture Government of India) can i have contact details of Mr Santosh. Regards . Anamika, Bengaluru

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *