The Magic of Words: Reviving the lost art: Pattachitra

A friend from school writes about decorating the home with colors and art. Her posts and the pins in Pinterest made me realize that happiness and wisdom walks into your haven only if you allow them. The house is mine and so are its elements. The walls, the cabinets, the mirror or the cupboards—each should tell a story of the family and me. And so, the interest of decorating the house is mounting up with each passing day as well as the slow realization of too many things that I want the walls in my home to have. Photographs, paintings, wall hangings, creative book shelves, etc.

Paintings, both traditional and modern, are unique. As if they speak something new every time you look at them. Sadly, traditional art forms from the different corners of the country are losing its value as they get overshadowed by digital art and other new forms. Traditional art forms are India’s pride and should continue to remain so. Following is a small description of one such art form, Pattachitra.

Pattachitra, like many other traditional art forms (Madhubani art, Terracotta art of Bishnupur and similar others) is a living art form hailing from Orissa. A very old type of art, Pattachitra or Painting on Patta is primarily wall or manuscript paintings or palm leaf etching on cloth (cotton as well as silk). The artisans who still practice this living art form are found in and around Puri, the home of Shri Jagannath as well as in the village of Raghurajpur. The artisans from Raghurajpur dwell in a dedicated area known as Chitrakar Sahe.

The paintings on the cloth are primarily based on Hindu mythology, particularly inspired by the Vaishnava cult, emergence and establishment of Shri Jagannath, Krishna Leela and stories from the Hindu mythological epic, Ramayana. These paintings have three perspective: (a) the temple art or art of Jagannath Temple (b) less significant is the court art or art of the Jagannath Temple (c) generalized nature in the art of the society as opposed to temple art.

Image: jayajagannath.blogspot.com

The process of creating a Pattachitra is no easy work. Hard work, hours of toil and creativity, as they are put in, produces the best of art works that makes everyone gaze at them with awe and not fail to praise them for their work.

Image: www.shreekhetra.com

However, not all good things get what they deserve. The art of such magnificent traditional forms of mythological art is gradually getting lost. The artists who put in hours of labor to produce such masterpieces are not paid well or appreciated for their work properly. They sell their work at a minimal price to the middle-men who in turn sell them at a much higher price in international as well as domestic markets.

The need now is to create a buzz about them and help them secure their art and skill through informed marketing and well-deserved recognition. Applauds to #DoRight for taking up the initiative of bringing out the issue into public notice. By writing this post, I am making a humble attempt to spread the word of reviving the forms of traditional art and help them earn well-deserved appreciation.