TRADITIONAL ART

“Village of Painters”: a Visit to Naya, Pingla

Sourabh Datta Gupta
Independent Researcher

Introduction
The word ‘Pata’ is derived
from the Sanskrit word Patta
which means “a piece of
cloth”. Pata or pot as
pronounced in Bengali means
a canvas on which
picture/illustrations are made.
The artists are popularly
known as Patuas; but they are
also known as in more
respectable term Chitrakars,
which literally means picture-
makers. It is interesting to
note that the term has been
adopted as a surname also a caste title. The term ‘Patua’ and ‘Chitrakar’ are used
interchangeably, though the artists generally use ‘Chitrakar’ as their surname.
Traditionally, patuas were men, who were assisted by their womenfolk in several stages;
but in recent times women have come forward to lay their claim as patta artists. For
instance, Patua artist Moyna Chitrakar, of Nirbhaypur village in Paschim Midnapore has
done the illustration for the
graphic novel Sita's Ramayana by
Samhita Arni, a Bengaluru-based
writer.i
Traditionally the Patuas
make effective use of eco-friendly
colours by collecting them from
leaves, fruits, flowers, plants, trees
and other natural elements. For
instance, they extract saffron from
Lotkon leaves, blue from Aparajita
flowers, brown from Segun tree,
yellow from turmeric, black from
charcoal, green from Seem or
Babal tree, white from Ghusum Mati etc. They like to use bright colours on the pata by
applying bold brush strokes for sending their aesthetic appeal effectively.

Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design, (ISSN 2231—4822), Vol. 1, No. 3, 2011
URL of the Issue: www.chitrolekha.com/v2n3.php
Available at www.chitrolekha.com/V1/n3/03_Patachitra_Bengal_Naya_Pingla.pdf
Kolkata, India. © Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design
 7 Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2011

For their themes the patuas depended traditionally on the Palas from Ramayana, Manasa-
Mangala, Behula-Lakhindar etc.
One such pata by Jamuna
Chitrakar depicts the stories
circulated in oral and written
form involving the conflict
between goddess Manasa and
Chand Sadagar.ii But later on
modern themes were also
incorporated and assimilated into
their tradition. It is reported that
during the Mughal rule, some of
the artists embraced Islam and
began new tradition in
storytelling. Thus the potuas of
Bengal played a major role in
popularizing the epics, myths and
legends in their own way, thereby educating the mass indirectly.
I had the good fortune to meet Frank J. Korom, who teaches at Boston University
and he speaks good Bengali; he has written a book called “Village of Painters”, about an
accomplished group of artists who live in Naya, Midnapore. This book respectfully
documents their lives and pays a fitting tribute to their work who against formidable
odds, continue to practice an ancient vocation.
A Little History
Though many folk art forms – which are our intangible heritage, are dying with the
emergence of electronic media, there is one art form which was dying even few years
back, has made a remarkable
comeback. One such art form is
Patachitra. Frank J. Korom has done
a monumental work Village of
painters: Narrative Scrolls from
West Bengal, which respectfully
documents their lives and pays a
fitting tribute to their work who
against formidable odds, continue
to practice an ancient vocation.iii
The Patuas of West Bengal are
specializing in the production of
painted narrative scrolls
(Patachitra) of cloth and the
performance of songs to accompany
their unrolling - that are comparable to movies –with a series of framed images that form
8 “Village of Painters”: a Visit to Naya, Pingla

narratives as diverse as ancient Hindu myths and current events. Not only do these
inspired individuals paint their scrolls,
they also compose a song for each story
they illustrate. In short they are a unique
tribe of folk artistes who are painters,
lyricists, singers and performers rolled
into one. “Traditionally, the unique role of
the Patuas,” as Scott Rothstein says “was
as part teacher, part entertainer.”iv These
artisans have been plying their trade in
this region of India at least since the 13th
century and possibly earlier.v According
to another source, “Patachitra has been
mentioned in Puranas, Epics, Ancient
Literatures and Historical Descriptions. The style of painting is similar to the cave
paintings of Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Ajanta. ‘Patuas' and ‘Chitrakars' have been
referred to in literary works dating back to more then 2500 years. Some researchers opine
that ‘Patashilpa' was originally an art from of the Santhals (tribal community).”vi
Some scholars like to locate patachitra in
relation to the rise of Kalighat patachitra
during the colonial period when the
village patuas settled in the southern part
of Kolkata and continue their work
following the demands of the times.
Connoisseurs and folk art collectors like
Gurusaday Dutt--an Indian civil servant of
the 1930s traced the continuity between
the classical and the folk style and located
the Bengal village as the key to the Pan-
Indian Art style. But soon the patuas
began to face hard times with the
beginning of the 20th centurt and drifted
gradually to other professions whereas
some of them went back to their villages.
It is believed that a large number of them
resettled at a village called Naya in the
West Medinipur district. They began to
take the title of chitrakar or patua to specify their caste status.
During 1987-88, the situation was unbearable. However gradually the socio
economic conditions of these artists have been showing signs of improvement in the last
couple of years with some of them gaining international recognition. Some organizations
have been working with many artists of this school, in collaboration with the European
Union. It is really shocking what EU can do, our government cannot.
 9 Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2011

Visit to Naya
I went to Naya (Reach Balichak from Howrah, then 20 minutes by bus) with our
team in 2010. Naya is in Pingla
block in West Midnapore district
which has been able to celebrate
the success of local artists in
reviving the village heritage, for a
mix of art and music in a rural
setting. Naya and Chandipur (East
Midnapore)) are villages of
Potuas/ Chitrakars of Bengal.
Almost every house here has at
least one artist. There are around 53
Potua families in Naya. They have
painted their houses
with potochitra motifs.
During our visit to the village of Pingla, one visible change we witness was in the selection
of topics for pot. Here, the artists were added bits of modernity to this art form. Some of
them paint not just the divine mischief
of Krishna, but also nightmares like 9/11,
26/11 , Jnaneswari train carnage, national
issues like the Babri Masjid destruction
or the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004.
We met Robin Chitrakar, the only
graduate of the village. We also met
Anwar, who won the President’s award
in 2006. We found his drawing the best
of the lot. Later on from newspapers we
came to know that
There are artists like Anwar Chitrakar who has managed to sell one of his paintings
to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
for Rs 80,000. Anwar, whose paintings
have been showcased at the Harley
Gallery in the United Kingdom,
recently released a graphic novel
about a thousand Kalighat paintings.
“Initially I used to sell an 8 by 12
inches painting for Rs 100-150 a piece
but now I sell them for Rs 800 a piece
on an average. I have also sold
paintings for Rs 75,000 to Rs 85,000 a
piece depending upon the size of the
10 “Village of Painters”: a Visit to Naya, Pingla

painting,” says Anwar.vii

We also saw Swarna and Dukhushyam,
well known to many in the artists’ circle in
Calcutta. A little secluded is the home of
55-year-old veteran artist
Nanigopal's home, three pots on Jesus
Christ hang around his place. Here,
pictures depicting tales from Ramayana
hang alongside colourful scrolls with hard-
hitting social messages like human
trafficking. He was showing us the scroll
painting of his grandfather which is 120
years old!

Notes

i
Amrita Bose, Move over Rama, Sita wants to speak, http://www.mid-day.com/specials/2011/jul/310711-
Move-over-Rama-Sita-wants-to-speak.htm
ii
The pata can be accessed at http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/naya/scrolls/31_manasamangal.html. It
also contains songs sung by Snehalata Chitrakar and Mayna Chitrakar.
iii
Frank J. Korom, Village of painters: narrative scrolls from West Bengal, Museum of New Mexico Press,
2006. I had the good fortune to meet Frank J. Korom, who teaches at Boston University and he speaks good
Bengali.
iv
Scott Rothstein’s review of Village of Painters, Narrative Scrolls from West Bengal by Frank J. Korom, Folk
Art Messenger (Vol. 19, No. 2, Spring/Summer 2007, http://artfoundout.blogspot.com/2007/07/village-of-
painters-narrative-scrolls.html).
v
Frank J. Korom, Village of painters: narrative scrolls from West Bengal, Museum of New Mexico Press,
2006.
vi
Maleek Chitrakar at Saras Mela 2010, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcKoJaDNBpw
vii
Pooja Sarkar ‘Deft strokes’. Business Standard, November 06, 2011.. http://www.business-
standard.com/india/news/deft-strokes/454636/

Sourabh Datta Gupta is an independent researcher, cultural traveler and documentary

photographer. He runs a blog at http://sourabhdg.blogspot.com. Email: [email protected]