Cheriyal Scroll Painting is a stylized version of Nakashi art, rich in the local motifs peculiar to the Telangana. They are at present made only in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The scrolls are painted in a narrative format, much like a film roll or a comic strip, depicting stories from Indian mythology, and intimately tied to the shorter stories from the Puranas and Epics. Earlier, these paintings were prevalent across Andhra, as also various other parts of the country, albeit flavoured with their distinct styles and other local peculiarities dictated by the local customs and traditions. In the same way, Cheriyal scrolls must have been popular across Telangana in earlier times, though with the advent of television, cinemas and computers it has been fenced into its last outpost, the Cheriyal town. History Scroll paintings have a rich history and play an important role in the Asian artistic tradition. In China, scroll paintings were part of the sophisticated traditions of the nobility and the courts. In India however, the scroll painting was the prerogative of the itinerant bard and the village artist, in essence a folk tradition of the villages. In India, each region and village developed its own scroll painting traditions, marked by characteristic content, form and technique depending on the local ethos, patronage and socio-economic conditions. Rajasthan is known for its Pabuji ki Pad, Devenarayana katha as also stories from the legend of Dhola and Maru. Goa evolved the Dasavathara, as Maharashtra did Pinguli and the Chitra Katha traditions. Maharashtra and Gujarat are also known for a sophisticated scroll painting tradition called the Prasasti Patra. Orissa and Bengal are famous for their Patachitra traditions. While the above-mentioned traditions could have significantly influenced the Cheriyal scroll paintings and artists, the Cheriyal paintings were and continue to be a distinctly local invention, peculiar to the Telangana region, drawing mainly on local traditions. It can safely be said that the local temple art traditions and the Kalamkari tradition across Telangana in particular, and the graphic art traditions of the Deccan and South India in general were the major influences that shaped and guided the art of scroll paintings. However, it should also be remembered that the sphere of activity, subject and artistic idiom of every scroll painting including that of Cheriyal is peculiar and confined to the village or habitment. To quote from A. L. Dallaiccola's South Indian Paintings- A catalogue of the