Pattachitr Painting style:

Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha. 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, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction. Pattachitra 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. Patrachitras are a component of an ancient Bengali narrative art, originally serving as a visual device during the performance of a song.

Some of the popular themes represented through this art form are Thia Badhia - depiction of the temple of Jagannath; Krishna Lila - enactment of Jagannath as Lord Krishna displaying his powers as a child; Dasabatara Patti - the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu; Panchamukhi - depiction of Lord Ganesh as a five-headed deity. More than anything, the themes are clearly the essence of the art form, conceptualising the meaning of the paintings. It is no surprise therefore that the process of preparing the paintings engages undeterred concentration and careful craftsmanship.

About the Facilitator/Artist: 

Renowned Kalighat painter, Kalam Patua was born on November 1, 1962, in Jhilli village, Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Kalam was born in the Patua community who skilled themselves as the scroll painters and wandered along the ghats of Kali temple in Kolkata in the early 18th century to showcase their unique style of pattachitra scroll paintings, which thereafter got the recognition as kalighat paintings.

Kalam Patua mastered the art form from his grandfather and father who were the most skilled pattachitra painters of their time. From an early age of 12 Kalam started to paint the pattachitras made by his father and grandfather. However, with the change of time and exposed to some ugly truth of society, Kalam decided to take the kalighat style to another level by introducing contemporary themes by moving from the conventional mythological themes. Thus, in this move, he happened to be the first kalighat painter to revive the traditional art form from its conventional pattachitra style towards a more contemporary subject, form and style.

Over his 40 years of practice and utmost dedication, today he has established himself in the forefront as a pioneer of contemporary  Pattachitra & kalighat painters. His subjects are often symbolic of the happenings around the city life, the elites, often induced with humour, satire, idea and thought-provoking attitude. The subtle use of colours in different hues and tones, bold lines have been developed and acknowledged as the style and recognition of Kalam Patua’s paintings.

Workshop details: