Historical Origins & Architectural Context

Patronized by the Bhonsle rulers of Sawantwadi State and preserved today by the Chitari artisan community and the royal family inside the historic Sawantwadi Palace. Concentrated around Moti Talav, Rajwada Palace, and Kolgaon (Chitari Galli) in Sawantwadi town along the Mumbai–Goa Highway (NH-66).

Walk into Chitari Galli in Sawantwadi and you will see baskets of mangoes, cashews, jamuns, and bananas so lifelike that visitors routinely try to peel them—only to discover each fruit is hand-chiselled from feather-light Pangara wood.

“पांगारा वृक्षाच्या लाकडातून घडवलेली फळे आणि दशावतारी गंजीफांची राजेशाही चित्रकला—सावंतवाडीचा कलावारसा!”

— Sindhudurg Craft Gazette • Sawantwadi Lacquerware Tradition

Cultural Significance & Enduring Legacy

Equally treasured is the royal art of Ganjifa: 120 circular hand-painted cards housed in a lacquered wooden box, preserving medieval astronomical and Puranic storytelling.

Carved from soft, fast-growing Indian Coral Tree (Pangara / Erythrina stricta) wood without felling whole trees, painted with non-toxic lacquer and natural pigments. Features GI-protected lacquerware toys, Chौरंग (marriage stools), and circular Ganjifa cards illustrating the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu.