The age-old art of patachitras

An exhibition of patachitra paintings by award-winning artist Ranjit Chitrakar will be conducted from November 10 to 14 at ICONART Gallery, Banjara Hills. Alongside this, the artist will conduct workshops on his art from November 9 onwards at Our Sacred Space.

Patachitra is an ancient folk art of Bengal. It is so ancient that it has been mentioned in the puranas and other early literature. This style of painting is similar to the cave paintings of Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Ajanta.

More than 2500 years ago, patachitras were started by Hindu tribes like the Santhals. With the advent of Buddhism, the themes changed to preach Buddhism. At this time patachitra also spread to Bali, Java, Sri Lanka and Tibet. Later Muslim invasions led the chitrakars to Islam.

The word ‘pata’ is from the Sanskrit word ‘patta’, which means cloth. The painters who specialise in this art form, called patuas or chitrakars, do not just paint but also sing as they unfurl the painted scrolls to the audience. The songs are called patergaan. They are based on a wide variety of themes, from traditional mythology to contemporary issues like preventing HIV and saving forests. The painting is done with natural colours obtained from trees, leaves, flowers and clays.

Ranjit Chitrakar's works are in art collections at Shantiniketan Vishwa Bharati University; Oxford University, London; Dhaka University; Craft Council of India; Craft Council of West Bengal. His two sons are accomplished artists as well.

Chitrakar’s workshops at Our Sacred Space include an introduction on November 8 from 10 am to 1 pm; ‘Paint Your Own Patachitra’ on November 9 from 10 am to 1 pm; ‘Intensive Patachitra Workshop’from November 11 to 14 from 11 am to 3 pm; ‘How to Make Natural Paint’ on November 15 from 11 am to 1 pm; ‘Parent-Child Patachitra Painting Workshop’ on November 16 from 11 am to 1 pm; and a patachitra performance by Chitrakar on November 22 from 6 pm to 6.30 pm.