Folk art is the term used primarily to
describe hand produced art that has some practical functions within a
community. It provides a livelihood for its practitioners that has been passed
down for generations, linked together by an aesthetic tradition, and can
therefore be considered a representative part of a given culture.
Bengali folk painting’s morphing identity
is a notable journey that can be used to exemplify the challenges, past and
present, facing folk artists and also the progression of globalization in
India. It is speculated that Patuas, the historical name for folk
painters from Bengal, have been painting for generations, possibly since as
early as the 13th century. Today Patuas, whose paintings are
called pats and whose work is therefore referred to as patachitra, which
roughly translates to “pat painting”, are still practicing in the rural
districts of West Bengal. The way in which patachitra has changed over
the last century and a half expose the resilience of folk art and its relevance
in a country that continues to struggle with the definition of its own culture.
Patachitra, in its many forms, proves that the best hope for folk art is
preservation through adaptation. In the mid-19th century, near the
beginning of globalization, Calcutta, now Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal,
became a central destination for immigrants searching for economic
opportunities, many patuas amongst them. The birth of Kalighat painting,
an adapted version of patachitra, which evolved as a culture of
cosmopolitanism grew in Calcutta, was a natural development as the artists
reacted to the new values of their society. Kalighat pats proved that
folk artists could adapt without losing their artistic roots in rural culture.
From then on, reactions to patuas and their work, from British merchants
and travelers to Bengali intellectuals and Modern artists, evidence the
changing attitudes towards folk art in Indian culture.
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| Patachitra |
The history behind the tradition: The
birth of Kalighat paintings
Patuas traditionally worked by travelling
from village to village with paintings of epic stories done on scrolls. In each
village, they would sing songs narrating the stories on the canvas while
unfurling their work at the same time, creating a dynamic oral tradition
enhanced by visual art. The majority of their subjects were religious in nature
and both Hindu and Muslim tales were depicted, the most famous being parts of
the Ramayana and the lives of popular Islamic saints.
The catalyst for patachitra’s fight
for survival and its existence as a symbol of Indian culture was the arrival of
the British, and in particular their socioeconomic influence on India. Without
the introduction of exported products, urbanization and the subsequent push
back that became the Indian freedom movement, patachitra may have continued as
a completely rural art form, and the innovative offshoot that is Kalighat
painting may never have existed. However, the coexistence of British colonial
power and Bengali patuas in 19th century Calcutta set in
motion the evolving relationship between folk culture and Indian nationalism
that exists to this day today.
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| Pat adapted from the story of 'Manasamangal' |
Kalighat, dedicated to the goddess Kali,
was and is a large pilgrimage site in Calcutta, Kali being a patron goddess for
the region and the city. Seated along the banks of the river Hooghly,
mythologically sacred to Kali, the temple was rebuilt in 1809 after it was
destroyed in the late 18th century and was the center of spiritual
life in Calcutta. Starting as early as the 1830s, visitors to Kalighat,
tourists and pilgrim alike, looked for souvenirs to take back with them to
their homes. Instead of travelling from village to village, at Kalighat the
travelers came to the patuas, a reversal of circumstances that had a major
impact in their pats.
The folk traditions and morals of the rural
immigrants clashed with the increasing influences of a European lifestyle on
the rich residents of the city. A ‘babu’ is defined in The shorter Oxford
Dictionary as, “a native Hindoo gentleman; also a native clerk who writes
English; occasionally used of a Bengali, with superficial English education.” Indeed,
the culture of those English educated Bengalis was defined as Babu culture. Babu culture was satirized in pats because of
the ways in which the European airs put on by babus were so disjointed from
traditional Bengali culture. Babus had a reputation for drinking and smoking
heavily, speaking and dressing as an English did, and carousing with
courtesans. Kalighat painting quickly began to capture the images of these and
other urban caricatures, feeding into the issues within the culture of urban
Calcutta. The second most popular image from the city was that of the corrupt
brahmin, caught eating meat, taking bribes or seducing the woman who came to
worship at his temple.
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| Pat satirized by "Babu" culture |
The decline of
Kalighat painting is related in large part to its inability to continue to
adapt and compete with incoming forms of cheap urban entertainment. In the
early 20th century, German oleographic printing techniques reached
India and printmakers were swiftly able to out produce Kalighat painters. By
the 1930s, there were few if any patuas still near the Kalighat temple.
The majority sought work elsewhere or returned to the villages from where they
had come.
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| Kalighat pat |
By Zavizah.
In part-2 "Nationalism and its impact on patachitra and its present condition" will be discussed.
References:
Gupta, R.P.
"Baboos, Bibis and Bhadramahila." In Naari: a tribute to the women of Calcutta, 1690-1990, 13-21. Calcutta: Ladies Study Group, 1990.!
Dutt, Gurusaday.
Gurusaday Dutt: Folk Arts and Crafts of Bengal: The Collected Papers.
Calcutta: Seagull Books, 1990.!
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