Nirmal Lacquerware and Painted Furniture

Nirmal is a town in Adilabad district of Telangana known for painted lacquerware and furniture with a distinctive soft-paste base and translucent lac finish. Artisans apply a yellow-grey clay called ponuki mixed with tamarind seed powder over a lightweight softwood called ponuku. The surface is burnished smooth and painted with floral or geometric motifs in bright reds, yellows, and greens, then coated with natural lac-resin varnish that gives a warm translucent glow. Nirmal ware includes trays, boxes, furniture panels, and wall art. The craft has GI certification. Traditional painters use squirrel-hair brushes for fine linework and apply colours in layered glazes. The Nirmal Utsav craft fair and KVIC support artisan clusters. Nirmal painted furniture is exported to Southeast Asia, the Gulf, and Europe.