About
the village:
Naya is a village in the Pingla Tehsil of Paschim Medinipur district, West
Bengal. According to the 2011 census data, the village spreads across an area
of 341.78 hectares and has a total population of 3960 peoples with a count of
962 houses.
The village becomes a subject of
interest due to a large number of traditional Pattachitra artisans (Patuas)
it has – the village is home to more than 250 (approx.) Pattachitra painters
or Patuas, as they are traditionally called. Although Pattachitra is
a traditional art form found in multiple locations across Odisha and West
Bengal, Naya has received special recognitions owing to its large number
of Patua population. In recognition thereof, Naya hosts a number
of governmental as well as non-governmental initiatives aimed at popularising
and commercialising this traditional art form.
Pattachitra – an ‘almost’ lost art:
A Pattachitra is a painting on a
piece of cloth (Patta meaning cloth and Chitra meaning painting),
generally a long piece of cloth, depicting a story in a series of frames on
long scrolls using natural colours derived from various leaves and flowers
found in the locality. Such paintings are then presented by the Patuas
in a performance where they sing the stories as the unfurl the scrolls. Pattachitra,
as a traditional art form, is found in a number of places across the states
of Odisha as well as West Bengal. However, the art forms practised in various
places are different – which has been now broadly classified into ‘Odisha
Pattachitra’ and ‘Bengal Pattachitra’.
A Patta-Chitra - Painted using Natural Colours |
Natural Colours, extracted from leaves and flowers |
The Pattas contain stories,
often revolving around themes starting from mythology, folk lores and local
legends to contemporary society and messages. For example, of the few
performances we got to witness, there were stories of Krishna and Radha,
stories of how a fish got married (a light-hearted comic poem for children), and
also stories loosely based on ‘Nirbhaya – the daughter of India’. However,
there has been a decrease in the number of Patuas actively involved in
this traditional art form, due to number of socio-economic factors which we
shall discuss shortly.
Naya and Pattachitra – the ancient
link:
The Patuas believe their art
form dates back to the ancient times when the early humans used to draw on the
walls of the caves to portray stories and incidents, and the practice lived on.
Naya, the village of the Patuas, has been traditionally a village
of the artisans. Terming the Patuas as mere painters shall not do
justice to their multifaceted talent – the Patuas are best described as Patuas,
the artists who are painters, story writers, lyricists, music composers,
singers, and also performers, all while being a socially backward class. The Patuas
whom we had the opportunity of meeting in Naya better liked to term
themselves as Chitrakars – the same being a more respectable pronoun.
Painted potteries |
Modern
challenges have modern solutions:
Earlier, Patuas used to roam
from village to village singing stories and showing their Pattas which
has been both socially and economically unfeasible today. Responding to such
modern contingencies, the artists of Naya have also come up with modern
solutions.
First and foremost, comes the GI
registration. The Bengal Pattachitra has been granted GI tag under the
GI Act of India which has gone a long way in ensuring authenticity in this art
form. Although a holistic protection can’t be dreamt for under the GI
framework, still a long way can be walked with GI as the support baton.
Next, comes various governmental and
non-governmental initiatives aimed at promoting this traditional art form. Government
of West Bengal’s Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and
Textiles, in association with UNESCO, has developed the Rural Craft Hub in
Pingla. The village also has a Folk Art Centre built by the West Bengal
Government where the visitors can learn about the various kinds of scrolls, the
stories and legends relating to Pattachitra and others. Non-governmental
Organisations have also played a significant role in promoting the art, as the
artisans admitted.
Next, has been the way in which the
artists have responded to the demands of the contemporary markets. Although Pattachitra
is traditionally painted only on long scrolls, the artists have started
painting it as wall decors, short post-cards, and most interestingly, on
t-shirts! Such a move definitely goes a long way in providing market access and
contemporary identity to such an ancient art form.
A community library at the heart of the village |
Still,
‘some’ unresolved challenges:
Although the Patuas have come up
with modern solutions to the plethora of modern problems as mentioned above, some
challenges still remain unresolved. The following can be taken to be a summary
of such challenges which need to be worked upon by researchers, academicians,
and policy makers in order to revitalise such an ancient art form:
- Most of
the Patuas sing stories only in Bengali, the local language. This makes
it difficult for the outsiders/foreign visitors to appreciate the meaning of
such stories and the depth/relevance thereof. Language training can be provided
for the Patuas to make the performances relevant and
accessible/enjoyable for foreign tourists.
- Falling
prey to the commercialised demands and profit cycles, a significant number of
artworks lacked quality. Better quality training should be provided to the
artists. Also, a quality-checking mechanism at place would go a long way in
earning the trust of the visitors who can also be potential customers.
- Foreign
registration is still a problem for the majorly-backward Patuas. While
they often are being invited to international art exhibitions and galleries, no
efforts are being made to provide international protection to this art form,
which may create legal complicacies in the future.
- The
artists are not taking advantage of the technology in
marketing/branding/distributing etc of their work. Separate dedicated
department of government can be established to take care of the online
marketing and branding as well as e-commercialising of the local GI products.
- On an extended note from the previous point, no use is made of the easily available e-commerce platforms to sell/distribute the artworks. A governmental or non-governmental initiative in this direction may prove to be immensely helpful.
A performance by the Chitrakars:
How to reach Naya:
We took a college bus from IIT Kharagpur, and it took us around two hours to reach Naya from Kharagpur. Alternatively, you can hire a taxi from Howrah railway station or Kolkata Airport to reach Naya.
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