Muslim rites and Hindu Gods

[Guest guest]

Scroll painters: Muslim rites and Hindu Gods

By Dilip Banerjee

Source: Free Press Journal

May 13, 2002

 

 

Scroll-painting is more a craft than an art, for, the people engaged

in it since its inception made use of it as their principal

vocation. In the past they lived in clusters in different

localities, mostly rural, and formed guilds of their own to protect

their interests and help one another.

To enlist larger patronage, the patidars moved from door to door

showing their picture to the accompaniment of narrative songs or

ballads explaining the themes depicted in the pictures. The verses

were either composed by themselves or collected from folk singers as

an attempt to impress the people. The paintings were also sold to

lovers of arts and artifacts and to the people who bought them to

decorate their rooms. They also made clay models and terra-cotta

dolls.

 

Today scroll painting has lost its pristine glory with the inroads

made by the modern means of entertainment like cinema, radio, TV,

Jatra shows etc. even into the remote countryside. Their number has

shrunk to a negligible figure and those who still carry on this

craft as a vocation live in dire poverty and inconceivable misery.

Their efforts to popularize their art by making use of current

topics and important modern personages seem to be of little avail.

 

Scroll-painting as an art may endure, thanks to a new-born love for

artifacts and archaeological specimens among scholars and

researchers with governmental patronage but the 'Patidars' as a

community stand on the brink of extinction.

 

The scroll-painters gleaned their themes mainly from ancient Indian

Scriptures and the Mangal Kavyas of medieval Bengal. The puranic

gods and goddesses like Siva, Chandi, Manasa appeared again and

again in their pictures. Scenes from the Ramayana, Savitri-

Lakhindara episode of Manasa-Mangala and the Kamale Kamini vision of

the Chandi-Mangala were very common subjects of painting with

the 'Patidars'. In moder times they have changed their outlook to

some extent and used important historical events and cult-figures to

cater to modern tastes or to exploit modern sentiments. Episodes

from India's struggle for freedom have a prominent place in the

modern scroll-paintings. This is a clear proof of the ability and

flexibility of the painters to move with the times. The Kalighat

patas also mark a modern development in this field.

 

The styles of the painters varied from place to place and group to

group. Generally, however, they were fond of depicting heavy

monumental figures of the deities with rich ornamentation in bright

deep colours with a view to making an immediate and abiding impact

on minds of the simple rural people or exploiting their religious

sentiments. The Kalighat variety of Patachitras also use this old

style with brush outlines and broad modelling showing its

distinctiveness. Most modern painters, however, employ less ornate

styles and use light water colours for the sake of serenity and

sobriety reflecting an awareness to live up to the changed modern

tastes. Another style of pata-painting is current in Vishnupur,

which appears to be more lyrical than picturesque, the figures being

drawn for no iconic effect. For instance, a scroll depicts the

Goddess of learning seated on a throne in a lotus pond with sky

above her head sketched in shades of appropriate colour. A disc of

halo has been used to heighten the grace of the goddess.

 

The scroll generally consists of a piece of cloth 12' x 2' in size

with a piece of paper of equal size pasted on one side. Two sticks

are attached at two ends of the scroll to facilitate smooth and

quick folding and unfolding. Sometimes durable paper scrolls are

also used as in the case of Kalighat patas.