| Pattachitra | |
|---|---|
| Geographical indication | |
 _(1439702942).jpg) | |
| Alternative names | Patachitra |
| Description | Patachitra (or Pattachitra in Odisha) is an old traditional art ofOdisha andWest Bengal |
| Area |
|
| Country | India |
| Registered | |
| Material | Cloth, Silk, Palm leaf, Paper, Color, Theme |
| Official website | ipindiaservices.gov.in |
Patachitra orPattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-basedscroll painting,[5] based in the eastern Indianstates ofOdisha,[6][7] andWest Bengal[8] as well as parts ofBangladesh. Patachitra art form is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it. Pattachitra is one of the ancient artworks ofOdisha, originally created for ritual use and as souvenirs for pilgrims toPuri, as well as other temples in Odisha.[9] Patachitras are a component of an ancientBengali narrative art, originally serving as a visual device during the performance of a song.[10]
InSanskrit, the wordpaṭṭa means "cloth" andchitra means "picture". Most of these paintings depict stories of Hindu deities.[11]
Charanachitras,Mankhas,Yamapatas were ancient forms of paintings executed on textile-scrolls and dealt with themes of a narrative-didactic nature of storytelling, which finds mentions in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts. According to historianN.R Ray, these textile-scroll paintings were ancestors of the Pattachitra art form.[12]
The Bengal Patachitra refers to the painting ofWest Bengal andBangladesh. It is a traditional and mythological heritage ofWest Bengal. The Bengal Patachitra is divided into some different aspects likeDurga Pat,Chalchitra,Tribal Patachitra,Medinipur Patachitra, andKalighat Patachitra.[13] The subject matter of Bengal Patachitra is mostly mythological, religious stories, folk lore and social. The Kalighat Patachitra, the last tradition of Bengal Patachitra is developed byJamini Roy. The artist of the Bengal Patachitra is calledPatua.[14]
Patachitra of Naya village inWest Bengal is now collected inNational Museum of Ethnology (henceforth MNE) inLisbon.[15]
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Patachitra is known for its excellent play of colour. It is a traditional folk art form of rural Bengal. There are some controversial opinions about the dates of ancient Patas. But it has been suggested based on historical themes connected with the accompanied songs likePatua Sangeet. It dates back to the Pre- Pala period which is still tucked away with small villages ofMidnapore,Bankura,Purulia,Howrah,Hooghly and24 Parganas.[16]There are some Jadu-Patuas painting of mural style in the temples ofBankura District in West Bengal.[17]
There are many types of Pots like religious, secular. Religious pots encompass the story of Hindu epics like, mythology, Ramayana, Mahabharata narrating stories of Hindu gods and goddesses likeRadha Krishna,Chaitanya,Kali, Shiba and the indigenous Bengali folklore of Manasha and Chandi, Behula and Lakshinder being the most popular. Secular pots depicts important news events, scandals accidents etc. such as bus accidents at Narayangarh, rural elections, the rationing system, family planning, evils of the dowry system etc. Every Patachitra has a song related to it, which the artists sing while unfurling the Patachitra. Singing pot in Bengal is calledPatua Sangeet. Patua Sangeet or Poter Gan is a cultural tradition of the singing Bengal Patachitra. It is performed byPatua.[18] It is famous in the village part ofWest Bengal likeBirbhum,Jhargram,Bardhaman andMurshidabad as a folk song ofWest Bengal.[10]
Bengal Patachitra painting has a different type of motive and aspects that unrolled the Bengali culture. Using the mythological epic and the natural color it is one of the individual characteristics of the Bengal Patachitra.
Chalchitra is a part ofBengal Patachitra, It referred to theDebi Chal orDurga chala, the background of theDurga Pratima or idol.[19]Patua, the artists of Chalchitra called it asPata Lekha, means the writing of Patachitra.[14] 300–400 years old idols ofNabadwip Shakta Rash used Chalchitra as a part of Pratima. At a time, the use of Chalchitra became fade, but now it has a great popularity.[20]
Durga sara is a variant of the patachitra. Instead of a cloth, the backside of a clay tray or dish called sara (সরা) in Bengali is used as the canvas, where an image of the Hindu goddessDurga is painted. Poor Bengali Hindu families in regions of West Bengal likeNadiya &24 Parganas use it as an alternative ofidols for worship.[21][22]
Lakshmi sara is similar in style to the Durga sara. It depicts the Hindu goddessLakshmi & was used as an alternative to idols by poorer Bengali Hindu families during theKojagori Lakshmi Puja festivities. Initially confined to regions of East Bengal (in what is nowBangladesh), specificallyFaridpur &Dhaka regions, the art style came to West Bengal through the hands of Bengali Hindu artists fleeingreligious persecution following thePartition of Bengal,1950 East Pakistan riots,1964 East Pakistan riots &1971 Bangladesh genocide, with its sales being fuelled by demand fromEast Bengali refugees.[23][24]
Gazir pat is a variation of the patachitra theme. Catering specifically toBengali Muslims, it depicts the exploits ofPir Boro Khan Gazi, an Islamic preacher whose tomb lies inGhutiari Sharif, who combined the roles of apir & aghazi & is renowned for having battled the Bengali Hindufolk godDakshin Ray as a part of hismissionary activities. He himself has been raised to the status of a folk god byArzals &Dalits living in theSunderbans alike, who seek his intercession in repellingattacks of theBengal tiger. This art form is widespread in Bangladesh.[25]
The Patachitra of different districts ofWest Bengal are characterized by many peculiarities in colour and design. The patachitra ofManbhum, now known asPurulia can easily be distinguished by their preference for one particular shade of burnt sienna relieved by white and yellow patches and densely packed composition. The seated figures ofDasaratha andChand Sadagar ofMedinipur crowning theRamayana and Kamale-Kamini scrolls are impressive and monumental.[26] In the scrolls of pot ofBirbhum,Bankura andBurdwan preference for Indian red background usually found, the scrolls ofHooghly preferred a dark brown. TheHooghly andManbhum 'pats' are peculiar and definitely modernistic with the abstract linear treatment.[27]
Use of natural color is one of the individual characteristics of the Bengal Patachitra. In general, blue,yellow,green,red,brown,black andwhite are used in the Patachitra ofWest Bengal. Chalk dust is used for white color, pauri for yellow color, cultivated indigo for blue, bhushakali for black and mete sindur for red color.[28]
Bengal Patua artists carry the occupational surname of 'Chitrakar'. They are concentrated in the village of Naya inMedinipur district ofWest Bengal. Prominent artists include Khandu and Radha Chitrakar and their children Bapi, Samir, Prabir, Laltu, Tagar, Mamoni and Laila Chitrakar.Monimala is known for her use of bold, primal colours and the development of her own iconographic style.[29]
Pattachitra is a traditional painting of Odisha, India.[1] These paintings are based onHinduism and specially inspired byJagannath andVaishnava traditions.[30] All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made ancient traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Odiya Painter. Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms ofOdisha. The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit wordspatta, meaning canvas, andchitra, meaning picture. Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs, designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction.[31] The traditions ofpattachitra paintings are more than thousand years old.[32][33]
The paintings ofOdisha can be divided into three categories from the point of view of medium, i.e. paintings on cloth or 'Patta Chitra', paintings on walls or 'Bhitti Chitra' and palm leaf engravings or "Tala Patra Chitra" or "Pothi, Chitra'.[34] The style of all these remains more or less the same at a specific time because then the artists were commissioned to work in all these media, it is believed.[according to whom?][citation needed]
The painting, the pattachitra, resembles the old murals ofOdisha, especially religious centres ofPuri,Konark andBhubaneswar region, dating back to the 5th century BC. The best work is found in and aroundPuri, especially in the village ofRaghurajpur.[35]
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This old tradition of Odia painting still survives in places likePuri,Raghurajpur,Paralakhemundi,Chikiti andSonepur. LordJagannath in the present form is being taken as the origin of the Patta style. The colour schemes of the deities of Puri are quite similar to those of the Patta style. The oldest record of Patta Paintings probably does not go beyond the establishment of the present shrine of Shri Jagannath at Puri. It may be since paintings do not survive like sculptures. The paints inside the shrines of Lord Jagannath at Puri make the date probable. The oldest classical marble paintings of Sitabanji atKeonjhar do not conform to the present style of Patta painting wholly. The wooden statues of the three deities are also covered with cloth and then overlaid with glue mixed with chalk, and then given paint only with four limited colours ofred,yellow,white andblack. The deities who are held in high esteem by theOdias and who inspire religion, life and activity of the people also carry with them a tradition of art and painting which is as old as the deities themselves. If the Savara origin ofJagannath is accepted, the date of the Patta paintings can be dated back to an earlier period. These paintings were originally substitutes for worship on days when the idols were kept away from the public after their ritual bath.[36]
The theme of Odia painting centres round theJagannath and theVaishnava sect. Since the beginning of Pattachitra culture, LordJagannath who was an incarnation of LordKrishna has been the major source of inspiration. The subject matter of Pattachitra is mostly mythological, religious stories andfolk lore. Themes are chiefly on Lord Jagannath andRadha-Krishna, different "Vesas" of Shri Jagannath,Balabhadra andSubhadra, temple activities, the ten incarnations ofVishnu basing on the 'Gita Govinda' ofJayadev, Kama KujaraNavagunjara,Ramayana,Mahabharata.[37] The individual paintings of gods and goddesses are also being painted.
The Pattachitra style is a mix of both folk and classical elements, but leans more towards folk forms. The dress style hasMughal influences. All of the poses have been confined to a few well-defined postures. These are not free from monotonous repetitions, though at times this is necessary to accentuate the narrative character of the style. The lines are bold and clean and angular and sharp. Generally, there are no landscapes, perspectives, or distant views. All the incidents are seen in close juxtaposition. The background on which the figures are represented is delineated with decorations of flowers and foliage, and is mostly painted in red colour. All the paintings are given decorative borders. The whole painting is conceived in the form of a design on a given canvas.
The themes may be classified into following categories[38]
Traditionally, the painters are known aschitrakars. A patta painter's home with all the members of the family is his studio. Woman members prepare the glue, the canvas and apply colours which we call the fill-in, and give the final lacquer coating. The master hand, mostly the male member, draws the initial line and gives the final finishing touch.
Patta paintings are done on small strips ofcotton cloth. Thecanvas is prepared by coating the clothing with a mixture of chalk and gum made fromGuar ortamarind seeds. Then it is rubbed by taking the help of two different stones, and then the cloth is dried. The mixture of gum andchalk gives the cloth's surface a leathery finish on which the artists paint with vegetable, earth and stone colours.[40]
The painters do not use pencil orcharcoal for the preliminary drawings. They are so expert in the line that they simply draw directly with the brush, either in light red or yellow. Then the colours are filled in. The final lines are drawn, and the patta is given a lacquer coating to protect it from the weather, thus making the painting glossy. This process of glazing orvarnishing is quite interesting. The painting is held over a fireplace so that the back of the painting is exposed to heat. On the surface of the painting, fine lacquer is applied.
Pattachitras are painted in five natural colours - Hingula, Haritala, Kala, Sankha and Geru, which are: Vermilion, Green, Black, Pearl White and Brick Orange respectively. There are typical scenes and figures, like Krishna, Gopis, elephants, trees, and other creatures are seen in these paintings. Krishna is always painted in blue and the Gopis in light pink, purple or brown colours.[41]
The painters use vegetable and mineral colours without going for factory-made poster colours. They prepare their own colours.[42] White colour is made from theconch-shells by powdering,boiling andfiltering in a very hazardous process. It requires a lot of patience. But this process gives brilliance and prominence to thehue. 'Hingula', a mineral colour, is used for red. 'Haritala', king of stone ingredients for yellow, 'Ramaraja', a sort of indigo for blue, are being used. Purelamp-black or black prepared from the burning ofcoconut shells are used.[43] There was no blue, either cobalt or ultramarine, in the earlier colour schemes. The colours used in the Patta paintings are primarily bright colours, limited to red, yellow, indigo, black and white. The brushes that are used by these 'Chitrakaras' are also indigenous and are made of hair of domestic animals. A bunch of hair tied to the end of abamboo stick makes the brush.[44]
Palm leafpattachitra, which is in theOdia language known asTala Pattachitra drawn on a palm leaf. First of all, palm leaves are left to harden after being taken from the tree. Then these are sewn together to form like a canvas. The images are traced by using black or white ink to fill grooves etched on rows of equal-sized panels of palm leaf that are sewn together. These panels can also be easily folded like a fan and packed in a compact pile for better conservation. Often, palm-leaf illustrations are more elaborate, obtained by superimposing layers that are glued together for most of the surface, but in some areas can open like small windows to reveal a second image under the first layer.[45]
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Citations
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