The tradition
The Kaavad, a portable, painted, wooden shrine, is made by the Kaavad makers (Basayati Suthars) of Bassi, Chittor, for the storytellers (Kaavadiya Bhats or Ravs) of Marwar. The storytellers unfold the multiple panels of the Kaavad as they recite stories and genealogies of their patrons (jajmans) spread across Rajasthan and adjoining states. The patrons commission images of themselves in the Kaavad and are represented riding vehicles of their choices, be it a plane, an elephant, a camel or a bullock cart. The experience of travel in the unfolding and the recitation of the stories is akin to performing a pilgrimage.