Yasala Prakash’s art explores rural Telengana with contemporary batik

Inspired by his illustrious father, the late Batik Balaiah, the artist’s new collection depicts village life and heritage monuments

Yasala Prakash is experiencing a mix of emotions. Though thrilled that his new exhibition ‘Reflections of Telangana on Batik’ has opened at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad, he misses his late father, the legendary batik artist Yasala Balaiah during this special moment.

Fondly called ‘Batik Balaiah’, Yasala, who passed away in December 2020 was known for his vibrant recreations of stories on Telangana rural life in batik. “I miss the lively discussions we used to have on themes, paintings and how we could modernise the art form to take it to youngsters. Maa naana chettu needalo memu perigaamu (My father was a huge tree under whose shade we grew),” says Prakash.