Patas, or scrolls which are to be unrolled as their accompanying text is
sung, are from the eastern Indian state of Bengal: all were created since
2001.
Patas are a traditional form of North Indian folk art. Originally they
portrayed the stories of Indian epics and ritual stories, A single male, the
patua, would both paint the scroll and then travel from village to village
where he would sing the accompanying song as he unrolled his scroll to
entertain his village audience. The image of the Hindu goddess Durga shown
here is taken from a scroll telling her story.
The painting and the performance that accompany the patas has in the past
been a male activity. Women, who were traditionally more confined to the
household, did not participate in the painting of or the itinerate
performances of the patas. However, with the growth of the pata scroll
itself as an item for sale (rather than as something to be painted and then
performed for years in rural communities), individual women painters are
emerging in their own right.
The subject matter of the patas ranges from religious epics to secular
social issues. Since the 1970s, patas have been utilized by NGOs and
governmental agencies as a means to reach less-accessible rural communities
with messages about health care and other political and social campaigns
such as HIV/AIDS awareness and transmission.
The two center patas here are by a woman, Rani Chitrakar of Village Naya,
West Bengal. These scrolls represent a style created to use in an HIV/AIDS
campaign as part of an AIDS Communication Fair sponsored by the American
Consulate in Kolkatta. They were commissioned by the Crafts Council of West
Bengal.
The pata on the far left is by a male, Manoranjan Chitrakar. The one to the
far right was made by Rani’s sister, Monimala Chitrakar. Using much more
traditional motifs and styles, especially a demon to represent the HIV
virus, these two patas represent the incorporation of a theme (HIV)
originally generated by the western-oriented NGOs into the traditional
styles and motifs of Bengali art.
The pata sung here was painted and scripted by Manoranjan Chitrakar, a man
from Naya Village, Midnapur, West Bengal. Unlike the scroll that serves as a
header for this webpage, this one uses much more traditional motifs and
styles, especially a demon to represent the HIV virus. This pata, like
those on the program for this conference, represents the incorporation of a
theme (HIV) originally generated by the western-oriented NGOs into the
traditional styles and motifs of Bengali art.
The video was created by Dr. Susan Wadley. Please click play to begin the
video.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
KASTURI GUPTA ● kgupta@maxwell.syr.edu