Pattachitra

Pattachitra

Subject: Arts and Culture

Context: in Odisha’s Puri district, the 42-year-old Pattachitra artiste’s trade has taken a hit since the 2019 super cyclone Fani and the series of Covid-induced lockdowns enforced in the past year.

Concept:

• Pattachitra’ has evolved from the Sanskrit words ‘patta’ (canvas) and ‘chitra’ (picture).
• A pictorial narration of mythological and religious folklore on palm leaves and canvas with natural colours, the Pattachitra art has been passed down generations,
• The Pattachitra when painted on cloth follows a traditional process of preparation of the canvas. First the base is prepared by coating the cloth with the soft, white, stone powder of chalk and glue made from tamarind seeds.
• The artist does not use a pencil or charcoal for the preliminary drawings. It is a tradition to complete the borders of the painting first.
• The gum of the kaitha tree is the chief ingredient, and is used as a base for making different pigments, on which diverse raw materials are mixed for diverse colours. Powdered conch shells, for instance, are used for making a white pigment, while lamp soot is used for a black pigment. The root of the keya plant is usually used for making the common brush, while mouse hair is used on the requirement of finer brushes, to be attached to wooden handles.
• The painter then starts making a rough sketch directly with the brush using light red and yellowrk. When the painting is completed it is held over a charcoal fire and lacquer is applied to the surface.
• The materials used in the paint are from vegetable, earth, and mineral sources. Black is made out of lampblack, yellow from haritala stone, and red from shingle stone. White is prepared from crushed, boiled, and filtered shells. otifs.
• The Pattachitra artists also paint their themes on wooden boxes, on bowls, on tussar silk, on outer shells of the coconut, and on wooden doors.
• The themes were tribal and folk, intricate Pattachitra exhibits depicting the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Krishna Leela, JaganathDarshan, apart from myriad gods and goddesses, Painting carts for the annual JagannathRath Yatra, the ornamentation of Lord Jagannath in the innermost sanctum