# Sohrai-Khovar: From Jharkhand mud walls to Putin’s gift 2026-08-09T13:56:32+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Sohrai and Khovar, ancient tribal mural traditions from Jharkhand's Hazaribagh region, are painted almost exclusively by women using earth colours. The art, traced by environmentalist Bulu Imam in 1991, links back to cave paintings from 10,000 to 5,000 BCE. Once confined to harvest festivals and wedding chambers, the practice now fills the lean months between crop cycles, giving rural women a cash income. Sohrai-Khovar received a Geographical Indication tag in May 2020, unusually fast, and Hazaribagh became the first district in Jharkhand to put the motifs on all government buildings, including the airport. Prime Minister Modi is reported to have gifted a Sohrai painting to Russian President Putin. Sanjeev Kumar, an IFS officer, has organised folk art camps since 2007 to expand the art's audience. Local networks now report dozens of women directly employed and hundreds earning supplemental income. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: GI tag, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, Sohrai-Khovar, tribal art, women artists Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sohrai-khovar-jharkhands-ancient-womens-art-goes-global/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sohrai-khovar-jharkhands-ancient-womens-art-goes-global/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.