‘Pattachitra’, one of the many art forms to have survived over thousand years, that can virtually act like a historical chronicle of our country through time.
Pattachitra is a traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal and parts of Bangladesh. Patachitra artform is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it. Pattachitra is one of the ancient artworks of Odisha, originally created for ritual use and as souvenirs for pilgrims to Puri, as well as other temples in Odisha. Patachitras are a component of an ancient Bengali narrative art, originally serving as a visual device during the performance of a song.
All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made fully old traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Odiya Painter. The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture. Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs, and designs.
These paintings are based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava sect.
Heroic tales of gods and goddesses from the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana are painted in bold colours of red, white, and yellow with a distinctive style of sharp fish-like eyes, lyrical swaying bodies, and dots adorning the canvas like jewels and stars sprayed across. Ornate borders of flowers and carved pillars emulate the temple sculpture motifs of Odisha.
The paintings of Odisha 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’. The style of all these remains more or less the same at a specific time because the then artists were commissioned to work in all these media, it is believed.
The painting the ‘pattachitra’ resemble the old murals of Odisha especially religious centres of Puri, Konark and Bhubaneshwar region, dating back to the 5th century BC. The best work is found in and around Puri, especially in the village of Raghurajpur.
The Bengal Patachitra refers to the painting of West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is a traditional and mythological heritage of West Bengal. The Bengal Patachitra is divided into some different aspects like Durga Pat, Chalchitra, Tribal Patachitra, Medinipur Patachitra, and Kalighat Patachitra. 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 by Jamini Roy. The artist of the Bengal Patachitra is called Patua.
Palm leaf pattachitra which is in Oriya language known as Tala Pattachitra drawn on palm leaf. First of all palm leaves are left for becoming hard 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 elaborated, obtaining 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.
Geographical indication of Patachitra is registered under to different state of India as the style and motif of Odisha and West Bengal Patachitra are so different. The Patachitra of Odisha is registered as Orissa Pattachitra. The Patachitra of West Bengal is registered as Bengal Patachitra.