Colourful stories

“We come from Midnapur,a district in West Bengal and like us,there are 55 houses where patua painting is practiced. The idea behind this painting style is that we narrate stories in the form of a pictorial series. And as we unfold the series of pictures connected together,the stories are narrated in the form of a Bengali song that we compose ourselves,” says Koruna Chitrakar.

From epical stories such as the Ramayana or Mahabharata,the painters also present contemporary subjects such as tsunami,wildlife conservation,tree plantation and so on. “The epics are already well known. But we also present stories such as Machhali ki Shaadi (marriage of a fish) that talks about the importance of wildlife conservation or for that matter the Vruksha that talks about planting more trees. The whole idea is to educate with entertainment,” says Rahim Chatrakar.

With each panting demanding a dedicated effort for over a month to six months,the Chitrakars have a collection of over lakh paintings back home. Having learnt the 1000-year-old art from their forefathers,they travel from door to door displaying their creations. “While many people in Bengal appreciate the art,not many in other parts of the country are aware that such an artform exists. The government recognizes only those who are already well known. For smaller artistes like us,there is no support from the government,” says Rahim adding,”Both my parents are painters and when my mother makes the paintings,the poems and stories are written by my father. It does not matter whether the government recognizes us or not. This is an art that is passed from generations to generations and when I marry,I will be teaching my children to do the same.”