Pattachitra Painting: Capturing Mythology and Daily Life in Vivid Colors

Pattachitra Painting, a traditional Indian art form, known for its vibrant colors and intricate detailing. This ancient craft combines mythology, folklore, and daily life, offering a visual narrative that reflects the rich cultural tapestry of the region.

Pattachitra Painting: Regional Variations and Artistic Mediums

• Medium of Painting: Pattachitra Painting is generally done on fabric, palm leaf or paper.
• Region: Gujarat and Rajasthan in the West and Odisha and West Bengal in the East. 
  • It is also known as Pata, Pachedi, Phad, etc.

Pattachitra Painting in West Bengal: Storytelling Through Vibrant Cloth Art

• Pattachitra in West Bengal: It comprises the practice of painting on cloth (pata) and storytelling in regions of West Bengal. 
• Receptive Oral Tradition: It is the most receptive oral tradition, constantly seeking new themes and formulating novel responses to major incidents in the world.
• Vertical Pattachitra Paintings: The vertically painted pata becomes a prop used by a patua (performer) for performance. 
• Hereditary Patua Performers:Handling the pata is their hereditary profession. 
• Traveling Storytelling Performances: They travel around villages, displaying the paintings and singing the narratives that are painted. 
• Common Village Spaces: Performances happen in common spaces of the village. 
• Narration of Multiple Stories: The patua narrates three to four stories each time. 
• Gifts After Performance: After the performance, the patua is given alms or gifts in cash or kind.

Puri Pattachitra Painting: Divine Veshas and Mythical Narratives in Pattachitra Painting

• Region: It acquired its recognition from the temple city of Puri in Odisha. 
• Medium of Painting: It largely comprises the pata (initially, done on palm leaf and cloth but now done on paper as well).
• Theme of Puri Pattachitra Painting: Daily and festival veshas (attires) of Jagannath such as Balabhadra and Subhadra. 
  • Rasa paintings, Ansara patti (this substitutes the icons in the Garbhagriha when they are removed for cleaning and fresh colouring is done after Snanayatra); 
  • Jatri Patti: For pilgrims to take away as memorabilia and put them in personal temples at home.
  • Mythical Episodes: Episodes from the myths of Jagannath, such as the Kanchi Kaveri Pata,
  • Thia-badhia Pattachitra: It is a combination of aerial and lateral views of the temple with the icons and temples around or depiction of festivals around it. 

Pattachitra Paintings: Vibrant Art on Cotton Cloth with Organic Colors

• Medium of Painting: These paintings are done on small strips of cotton cloth, which is prepared by coating the cloth with soft white stone powder and glue made from tamarind seeds.
• Border Making Tradition: There is a practice of making the borders first. 
  • Sketching Practice: A sketch of the figures is, then, made directly with a brush and flat colors are applied. 
  •  Colors Application: Colours, such as white, black, yellow and red are, usually, used.
• Fire Treatment and Lacquer: After completion, the painting is held over charcoal fire and lacquer is applied to the surface to make it water resistant and lend sheen to it. 
• Local and Organic Colors: The colours are organic and locally procured. 
  • Example: Black is obtained from lamp black, yellow and red from haritali and hingal stone, respectively, and white from powdered conch shells.
• Illustrations on Palm Manuscripts: Palm manuscripts are illustrated on a palm variety called Khar-taad. 
• Steel Stylus Usage: Paintings on these are not painted with brush but incised by a steel stylus, and then, filled in with ink, and sometimes, tinted with paint.

Phads Paintings: Honoring Folk Deities through Rajasthan’s Rich Cultural Tapestry

• Region: Phads are long, horizontal, cloth scrolls painted to honour folk deities of pastoral communities inhabiting the region around Bhilwara in Rajasthan.
• Bhomias as Hero Deities: These were designated by the broad term bhomia, these heroes are honored, worshiped and remembered for their acts of martyrdom.
• Bhopas and Itinerant Bards: Illustrating the valorous tales of these bhomias, the phads are carried by bhopas, the itinerant bards, who travel the territory.
  • Storytelling Performances: They display them while narrating tales and singing devotional songs associated with these hero deities in night-long storytelling performances.

• Illumination with Lamp: A lamp is held against the phad to illuminate images that are being spoken about. 
• Musical Instruments Usage: The bhopa and his companion perform to the accompaniment of musical instruments, such as ravanahattha and veena, and employ the Khyal style of singing.
• Community Remembrance: Through the phads and phad banchan, the community remembers the hero as a martyr and keeps his story alive. Phads, however, are not painted by the bhopas. 
• Joshi Caste Tradition: They have traditionally been painted by a caste called ‘Joshis’ who have been painters in the courts of the kings of Rajasthan. 
• Skilled Practitioner: These painters specialised in court-patronised miniature paintings. 
• Hence, the association of skilled practitioners, bard musicians and court artists place phads higher than other similar cultural traditions.