Kumbhakarna Wood inlay

Wood inlay is an intricate, centuries-old craft, once patronised by Mysore’s royals. The technique involves embedding coloured woods and natural materials into a wooden base. Traditionally used to depict floral patterns, animals, and royal scenes, it remains one of the city’s most distinctive artisanal traditions. Two of Raghupati Bhat’s drawings, also shown in the exhibition, find new form through the craft. R Bhanuprakash converts Bhat’s images into three dimensions, animating them with a playful, tactile life in a medium rooted in their shared hometown.