Sai Kiran Varma

I'm D Sai Kiran Varma from a small village of Cheriyal in Telangana and is one of the few artists in the country who specializes in Cheriyal art, which I have learned from my parents – state award winners, D Nageshwar and D Padma.

I have studied Fine Art's at Sri Venkateswara College of Fine Arts, Hyderabad, specializing in painting with the aim of preserving Cheriyal art and is working now with Kakipadagallolu storytellers, who narrate tales from the Mahabharata to the community of fruit pickers. 

I would constantly aim to make Cheriyal art more contemporary and relevant by using its motifs to make utility items such as mobile covers, key chains, tissue boxes, paperweights, and the popular masks which are made from coconut shells. All these items are made from the same materials, with the same techniques and I ensure that I'm not making it fully contemporary as then this art will get lost.