Pichwai Depicting the Celebration of the Festival of Cows. India (Deccan), late 18th - early 19th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pichwais (large paintings on cloth) were hung behind the main image of a shrine. The unusual iconography of the image indicates that it was made for the Festival of Cows (Gopashtami), held in the late autumn to celebrate Krishna's elevation from caretaker of calves to cowherd.