The art of tradition of pata paintings developed near temples. This tradition of folk paintings on cloth is largely known as pat, patt, pata, and phad paintings. Pata paintings have religious themes and thus illustrate unity in diversity in India. This establishes the fact that in spite of regional variations there is an all India characteristic in all art forms. This feature makes this style of painting akin to styles of other areas. This was the product of rural artists and was the privilege of menfolk only.
The art of tradition of pata paintings developed near temples. Pata painting were made for domestic and religious purposes on a professional basis for their limited rural clientele and for pilgrims who come to the temple. The majority of pata paintings focus on their local god. They also feature mythological and puranic themes-illustrations of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Krishna, Durga, Siva and Vishnu legends. Rendering of these themes in simple compositions with minimum use of colour distinguishes them from classical style paintings with the same thematic content. Their association with temple art and religious teachers made possible the survival of archaic myths and history and fork art rich and colourful. A close study of pata paintings revealed that they were executed in a wide range of styles varying from meticulous detail and refined lines to extremely crude, grotesque and weird works. This depends on the individual artist’s skill.
A group of mendicant story tellers and scroll painters have kept alive the art pata paintings. Its enactment is both educative as well as entertaining and has been responsible for the interest that has been kept alive among communities who are otherwise unable to read and write. It is a living and practicing arts. Earlier, mendicant story tellers with a group of entertainers, would borrow the work of scroll painters and give shows in villages at a good location. The paintings would be presented in the form of a show, like today’s flip chart presentation, and the story teller would relate an interesting tale. The shows were popular and educative. They kept alive the pata style of paintings. Village people, with limited avenues of entertainment, were always waiting for the arrival of the story teller and his troupe
Today it is a living and practicing arts. Pata style is old but has not received adequate recognition. With the advent of economic change the story tellers have left and pata artists, though existing, have limited circulation. Still paintings are remarkable for their bold effect and immediate appeal, for they developed in comparative independence from the conventions of temple art.
The Pabuji-ki phad from Rajasthan, Kalighat paintings from Bengal, pata paintings from Orissa, pichwai of Rajasthan and other parts of India have some examples of such art. Some popular pata paintings are presented here:
Bengal Pata
In Bengal , paintings as a popular medium of cultural expression developed in compative independence from the connections of a temple art, and free from the influence of court art. The painted scrolls and patas of rural Bengal is one of the few genuine folk traditions surviving down to the present country. In the villages of 24 parganas, Bankura, Bhirbhum and Burdwan, Murshidabad, Midnapur, Hooghly and Bhubhomi one still meets the patuas selling their patas in rolled paintings which functions as a visual prop in storytelling. They generally paint on mythological stories in Bengali version of epic Ramayana and Mahabharata and secular narratives of social political or historical interest.
The chitrakars paint usually on paper of the cheapest variety or sometimes even on old newspaper. Pata or the jarano pat are average twelve to fifteen feet in length and one or two feet wide. A part from popular mythological stories, the themes sometimes is a condemnation of social injustice, ending with a picturization of hell and of the evil, being tortured in retribution. The picturing on the scroll are arranged in rectangular panels, one below the other. As the scroll gradually unfolded, the patua, sings explanatory ditties of which he is often the composer.
Patua generally use primary colours like yellow, red and blue. Sometimes green and brown were laid in flat washes. Hot tones are always avoided and overall effect is profoundly quite. Some of the pats particularly Ramayana rolls remind us of temple murals in colours and composition Classic Indian modeling quality of the line is, however, absent.
Kalamkari
The tradition of Kalamkari painting is very old. In India many arts and crafts were nurtured in the temples. The temples were a major inspiration for dedicated artistic endeavor. The traditions of all the arts in south India had their roots in temple rituals. Srikalahasti near the temple town of Tirupati, is an ancient center of the devotional aspect of this craft which developed around places of pilgrimage. The function of temple cloth painting is narrative, their themes drawn from the rich mythology of Hinduism. The craftsmen of the pen and brush technique painted in narratives the religious legends from which people learnt the stories of their gods – a tradition which continues even today in many parts of India.
The word kalam is from Persian origin. The old traditions were the religious mural paintings. The fine craftsmen of this pen and brush technique painted narratives of religious legends from which people learnt stories of gods. It was in 1886, at a colonial exhibition that Kalamkari was brought to the notice of the people for the first time. In 1886, kalamkari was first noticed by the British. Soon it became popular for many different uses – for garments as well as for furnishing. While the ebb and flow of export affected the Musalipatanam Kalamkari, what was and has perhaps remained the true Kalamkari – the figurative wall hangings -remained unchanged. A feature of kalamkari painting is the profuse adornment of the figure with meticulous details.
In the 19th c. Srikalahasti became important. The rich mythological heritage was painted in fine lines by artists, craftsmen and fabric painters of Srikalahasti. This was a collection of best selected motifs and designs. It was left to the personal interpretation of designers to see how all these motifs as figurative drawings could be used by them to enhance beauty of their own (designer’s) products. Today there is a flowing demand for this art and both Masulapatnam and Srikalahasti art have been revitalized. The style of fabric painting in Masulipatnam is the best. This is closely related to the Srikalahasti tradition. There still exist various forms of traditional paintings for appreciation and rejuvenation. Some include the older forms of traditional paintings, but the later forms show the development, continuity or decay.
Phad Painting of Rajasthan
Traditional phad painting is the popular style patronised by rural folk of Rajasthan. It depicts the glory of their folk heads like Devnarayanji, Pabuji and Ramdevaji, who are greatly revered and worshipped all through rural Rajasthan as folk deities. Traditional phad painter hardly paints on his own initiative. The need to paint a particular type of phad always comes from requirement for Bhopa, demand being made by a patron or Yajaman.
Painting in Rajasthan developed primarily under feudal patronage. But there were also many anonymous painters who painted for a distinctly plebeian cliental and as the late 17thc and early 18thc. Phad painters always prefer the cloth of khadi or reja, the hand spun and hand-woven coarse cloth as the canvas for their rectangular scroll paintings.
The painter first prepares a rough outline of a traditional composition in light yellow colour. When this rough sketch is ready with clear divisions of composition into sections and sub sections, he fills up the areas with various colours. He generally uses orange for limbs and bare human figures, yellow for the ornaments and patterns of clothes, blue for water and green for trees. And predominant red is generally used in dresses of principal characters. He uses one colour at a time and fills up all the areas to be covered with that one. Painters prepare their own colours from powdered earthen colours, water, gum and indigo. Colours are ground with gum and water on a grinding stone.
The composition of Devnarayan phad, Pabuji phad, Ramdala phad or of Ramadeva pir phad, each varies from one another, as theme and story content differ in each case. But each type has its set traditional composition and the painter rigidly follows it, as the visual content of his phad should necessarily correlate with the narrative comment of Folk Epic sung by bhopa, story teller.
Painting in Rajasthan developed in three phases. The parent style was that of the illuminated Jain manuscripts of the 14th c. from Gujarat. The local genius of Rajasthan developed when Mughal school of painting came into contact with parent Gujarati style at the end of the 16th c. Rajasthan art was pictorial analogue of the contemporary ‘brajabhasa’ poetry with its fervent devotion for Krishna.
Nakkashi (Andhra Pradesh)
Traditional painters in Telengana, Andhra Pradesh are called nakkash. They maintain a kind of interest in art forms alive on the folk level. Drawing and painting are their ancestral occupation. They produce mythological paintings. Besides nakkash there were story tellers also who went to the nakkash and got patts painted. A story on patts is usually in 45 or 50 parts. They painted beautiful themes in vigorous and sensitive colours. A theme of patt paintings took a year or so to be completed. A peculiarity of this is the profuse use of geru or brick colour.
They moved from village to village and related tales. They used their own troupe of musicians and made use of scrolls as visual aids to relate the origin of their caste, development and existence of their home deity in story telling sessions. The traditional drum, ghungrus(–) and harmonium players of their caste accompanied the story teller. The sweetness of musical instruments, sound melodies, songs, deft depiction of patt highlighted the glory of their ancestral history, honourable professions and reverence for the society.
Nathwara Temple Art
Nathdwara is a small pilgrimage town in Udaipur district, Rajasthan . The word Nathdwara means gateway to the Lord. Nathdwara has been the head quarters of the chief deity of the Pushtimarga sect, founded by Sri Vallabhacharya in the sixteeth century. In Nathdwara , art is the occupational heritage of the whole joint family. There are two different painter sub castes , the Jangira Brahmins and the Adi Gour Brahmins. Painters from many places migrated to the site in hopes of royal and religious patronage.
Painters of Nathdwara have a large repertoire of styles and subject matter . Certain genres of painting of Sri Nathji . Other prestigious genres includes:
1- Miniature paintings,
2- Pichwai paintings on cloth,
3- Calendar art,
4- Other genres including landscape, portraits, wall paintings, skin
decorations, drama ,costumes etc.
Orisa Pata
Though pata paintings represent a typical Orissa art form, the painting styles has lots in common with painting styles of the rest of India . Pata paintings of Orissa is a religious art form and bear comparision with Nathdwara paintings of Rajasthan. In both cases, there are communities of chitrakars engaged even at present in painting religious pictures.
Pichwai
The temple and havelis hangings are called pichwais. Pichwai means, in the background. Themes evoking the myraid moods or leelas of Lord Krishna were painted on cloth of varying sizes that were hung behind the idol of Lord Krishna in Vallabhacharya shines. Offered to Srinathji at Nathadwara in Rajasthan by the devout on auspicious days, festivals and seasons, pichwais gradually developed into a special and distinct style of paintings.
The five hundred old tradition was a part of the rituals and utsavas or festivals, that were associated with Krishna cult. Over the years the style achieved maturity in colour, rhythm, the handling of lines, figures, textures and together these elements evoked the typical serenity of Vaishnava sentiment.
The Vallabha or Vaishnava sect, was eshtablished by Vallabhacharya around 1478-1530 AD. The principal centre was Mathura and Vrandavana. Krishna was the chief deity worshipped as Srinath. The central icon is Srinathaji lifting Mount Goverdhan with his left hand. Other subjects were bala Krishna, The child Krishna and Gopala Krishna, the cowherd who enchanted the gopis and gwalas with the magic melody of his flute.
Duing the Mughal rules the image of Srinathji’s was removed from its original place of worship of Lord to the Havelis, a privite mansions, away from the traditional sanctum of the temple, Mount Goverdhana . This was because of the religious persecution that was unleashed by Aurangzeb. Later it was installed at Sinhar village in AD1671. The village was re-christened Nathadwara, the door of the Lord Krishna.
The painters of pichwais are traditional painters, they not merely executed the paintings to earn a livelihood, but as a form of bhakti or devotion. Today the style and technique is the same. The only difference is that they are now using commercial colours, canvas and brushes which has changed the quality of paintings. Metals like gold were used for preparing hilkari or golden colour which was extensively used in pichwais. Brushes were from squirrel’s hair.
These cloths paintings set the mood of the seasons and described the many festivals or at times reminded devotee, through the strong narrative content of the leela of Krishna , of sectarian lore. The finest examples of the Nathdwara school of paintings are displayed during the month of shravana.