Bahadur Chitrakar

Transcript

Bahadur Chitrakar:  Greetings!  My name is Bahadur Chitrakar.   I am from the village Naya (Dist: Pingla, Paschim Medinipur).  I am a patua

Interviewer:  Are the people who live here with you your relatives?

Bahadur Chitrakar:  Yes.  They are all a part of my family.  I live here with my parents, my son, my daughter and also my son-in-law. 

Interviewer:  Were you born and brought up here?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes. I have been living here since my childhood. 

Interviewer:  Who was the oldest member in your family back then?

Bahadur Chitrakar: My parents.

Interviewer:  Okay…so…what about your grandparents?

Bahadur Chitrakar:  This is my maternal uncle’s place.  I have been brought up by my maternal uncle and grandparents.  So they could be referred to as my elders. 

Interviewer: Are they still alive?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes, my maternal grandmother is alive. 

Interviewer: Does she still practise patachitra?  

Bahadur Chitrakar: No, she is too aged to paint patas now, but she can still sing.  She’s around seventy-five to eighty years old. 

Interviewer: How old are your parents?

Bahadur Chitrakar: They are around sixty.

Interviewer: Who are the ones who are shouldering the responsibility of teaching the new generation about patachitra?

Bahadur Chitrakar: This is something that has been passed onto generations down the line.  My parents were taught by their parents.  I was taught by my parents. My children are, likewise, learning from me. They don’t really need to undergo any separate training.  They eventually embrace this art form. 

Interviewer: How many families live here?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Around eighty to eighty five families are now associated with patachitra.

Interviewer: When you were young, how was the scenario? Was it similar?

Bahadur Chitrakar: No. When I was young, ten to fifteen families, a maximum number of twenty-five families were perhaps practising this art form. 

Interviewer: Oh! So the number has increased manifold.

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes. The number has increased a lot.

Interviewer: So… you are saying that the number has doubled.  Are these local people? Have they always been living here? Or have they migrated from elsewhere and have then learnt the art form?

Bahadur Chitrakar: As far as I know, patuas have been living here for the last eighty to ninety years. But people have gradually migrated from other places and have started their families. That is how the population has increased.  

Interviewer: There are patuas even in Purba Medinipur. Have they migrated from there?

Bahadur Chitrakar: No. Patuas have been living in Purba Medinipur for long – maybe for the last hundred to hundred fifty years or so. People migrated here much later, because it is a known fact that we  migrated from the east, from places like Thekuachawk, Chandipur, Hanshchawra, Chaitanyapur. We, patuas, live in all the sub-divisions (police stations) of Medinipur. You won’t find a sub-division in either of the Medinipurs where a patua doesn’t  live. Now, quite a few have stopped pursuing patachitra as a profession. They have taken up other professions.  But even then, there are quite a few villages which are still practising patachitra

Interviewer: What were usually the themes of patachitra in the days when you were young?

Bahadur Chitrakar: When I was young, we didn’t have these square patas.  Nowadays, we sell these square shaped small patas but it wasn’t prevalent in those times.  Earlier, patas were, by and large, composed only to be displayed in rural areas. They weren’t put up for sale. Patuas used to wander about villages, showcasing their patas and singing songs.  They earned a little rice and very little money, and with that they fed their families. So, this was the prevalent practice. 

Interview: Was the theme, in those days, mainly related to mythology?

Bahadur Chitrakar: We had patas related to both mythology and contemporary social issues.  There were patas on Kalyug, on topics like the abuse of women, conspiracies of a stepmother etc. So, both the styles flourished at that time.  Patuas start acting like  journalists; whenever they would come across a new story, a new incident, they would paint these stories on patas, and wander about villages narrating these stories.  They would narrate these incidents to the villagers, and, in this way, would earn their livelihood. 

Interviewer: Since when did this trend of selling patas, of generating an economy based on this, begin? 

Bahadur Chitrakar: As far as I can recall, even twenty five to thirty years back, the scenario used to be different. There were a few people who used to visit other places to sell their patas. One or two people would invite them as well. Even fifty years back, these people who would buy one or two patas would rarely visit patuas or ask them to visit their offices where they might have been able to find customers. But nowadays several fairs are being held at Medinipur itself.  Not just Medinipur, fairs are being organised across the globe. Patuas are visiting all these fairs and selling their products as well. It all depends on how good one’s network is. Accordingly, they’ll get to visit as many places. 

Interviewer: Where do you find the maximum number of buyers for your patachitras?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Even our own villagers are buying patachitra these days. You’ll find them buying patachitras from the fair, Potmaya that is held every year during November. This fair was initially organised by Banglanatak.com. We paint on fans (usually made of palm leaves), pen stands, t-shirts, dupattas. That is why these villagers are extremely enthusiastic about patachitra. You’ll find women’s stuff like jewelry boxes, and other household items as well.  

Interviewer: While organising such fairs, where do you get support from? Do you receive any aid from the government?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Till now we have been receiving help from both the government and banglanatak.com for organising such fairs. 

Interviewer: If you could kindly elaborate a bit more on banglanatak.com.

Bahadur Chitrakar: banglanatak.com came to this place in 2004.  It has helped us transform into artists. It set up training centres for us. It looked into matters related to  our employment.  They also took the initiative to teach us English.  They taught us how to paint on saris. They have taught us innumerous things like these. The demand for these things in the market is pretty high – higher than that of patachitras. 

Interviewer: New artists are emerging. So what are the themes they prefer for their paintings?

Bahadur Chitrakar: The young painters prefer to paint according to the Kalighat style, a style which is gradually becoming extinct.  During the times of crisis, when patuas had lost their market in the rural areas, they started making earthen idols and saras (a clay tablet on which paintings are made). One of our ancestors used to visit the Kalighat temple with all such clay figurines of deities and saras. The visitors to the temple used to buy from these patuas.  One day, some foreigners came there. They wanted to buy these products.  But it would have been difficult for them to carry these earthenwares back home. So, they provided the patuas with paper and requested them to paint on these pieces of paper, which would have been easier for them to carry back home.  That is how the Kalighat patachitra began. The ones following this style are basically patuas from Medinipur.  They were not separate patuas living in Kalighat. So, this is how the Kalighat patachitra began. 

Interviewer: Which, according to you, is preferred by the buyers – the patas based on mythological themes or the ones based on contemporary times?

Bahadur Chitrakar: It all depends on the motive of a buyer. If someone buys a pata for research purposes or for curating it, one would buy a pata based on the Ramayana or the Mahabharata.  But suppose someone has a blank wall of about 4’/4’, in that case s/he might ask a patua to draw a pata according to that measurement.  Nowadays, people are decorating their walls with patachitras.  You’ll find the touch of a patachitra in quite a few houses these days.  Starting from a flower vase to other household items, patachitra is gradually paving its way into every household. 

Interviewer: You just mentioned the measurement – 4’/4’. Do you make patachitras longer than this?

Bahadur Chitrakar: In patachitras, we make scrolls as well. These scrolls can be pretty long.  The length can vary. We have scrolls ranging from two feet to ten feet, fifteen to twenty feet, fifty feet as well.  We have scrolls of varying lengths, even of five feet.  It completely depends on the buyer’s preference. A person might also customize a scroll according to the space that is available in his room. But there are certain lengths which sell more. For instance, 4’/3’, 2’/3’ – scrolls of these lengths have a higher market demand. 

Interviewer: Depending on what parameters do you set the price? Is it based on the length of the scroll or is it decided by the aesthetic quality?

Bahadur Chitrakar: No, no. It completely depends on the aesthetic quality of the pata, the skill of the patua

Interviewer: So it does not necessarily mean that a long scroll would come with a higher price tag. Right?

Bahadur Chitrakar: No, no. Not at all. 

Interviewer: So, patachitra is not just about paintings. It is equally about the song that accompanies the painting. Isn’t it? Now could you kindly elaborate on this aspect. How do you compose songs? 

Bahadur Chitrakar: In patachitra, the song is composed first, and then the painting. As regards the mythological patachitras, the songs have been handed down generations . But when it comes to patas on contemporary social issues, the songs have to be composed first. Only after that part is done, we can proceed towards painting. 

Interviewer: What type of songs are these? Are these like baul songs?

Bahadur Chitrakar: No. Patachitra songs are different.  Baul, Fakir, Patachitra – they are three different genres.  Every genre has different characteristic traits. 

Interviewer: Are these songs composed in Sadhu Bhasha (archaic form of Bengali) or in Chalit Bhasha (the form of Bengali that is commonly used)?

Bahadur Chitrakar: No these are composed in Chalit Bhasha

Interviewer: In local dialects?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes. In local dialects. Patuas live in several places. For instance, there are patuas in Bihar, in Purulia, in Bankura. They compose patas on adivasis (tribal communities). So they sing in their respective tribal languages. 

Interviewer: With time, how much change do you think has percolated into the lyrics of these songs?

Bahadur Chitrakar: The lyrics haven’t changed much. The tune, though, is undergoing changes. The songs, the tunes for patas based on mythology have remained quite the same. But the tunes for patas based on contemporary social issues have been composed keeping in mind the taste of the masses. They are composed in a manner so as to please the listeners.

Interviewer:  Do separate people compose songs and paint patas? The ones who compose songs – are they solely restricted to that one aspect?

Bahadur Chitrakar: No. That is not true for patuas. We all can, more or less, compose songs. To a certain extent, we can all sing these songs, and we can all paint as well. But it is true that not all can write songs. There are a few people who specialize in this. For instance, Dukhushyam Chitrakar. He can both compose songs as well as paint very well. He can be described as the guru of the patuas. 

Interviewer: What do you think about the next generation? They are getting educated. So, do you think they’ll want to carry on with this legacy or do you feel that they’ll probably choose a different career for their livelihood. 

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes they are indeed associated with a wide range of other jobs.But I don’t think that they’ll abandon patachitra this soon because they all derive great pleasure from it.  For instance, my own children begin their patachitras right from the morning. They are all working on this. This is how the legacy would continue. But, then, they require training. It would be really nice if they could have a gurukul or a school where they would be taught about the paintings, the songs, and where they would receive a little bit of training to hone their skills. Right from their childhood they’ll be able to grasp that they need to hold onto this tradition, or rather, it would be better if they did. 

Interviewer: So, basically, you all have this deeply seated wish of seeing your next generation carry on with this tradition.

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes. Of course. I would obviously want my son to paint like me, to carry this forward. 

Interviewer: Okay. Now the next question is about your religious identity. Are you all Muslims?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes. Most of the patuas are Muslims. But, then, there are Hindus as well.  It’s not that all patuas are Muslims. We have both Hindus and Muslims patuas. 

Interviewer:  The ones who have been living here since the ancient times, are they Muslims?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes. 

Interviewer: But your nomenclature – the practice of using the surname ‘Chitrakar’ seems to be irrespective of any religion.

Bahadur Chitrakar: Anyone can use the surname ‘Chitrakar’, provided that s/he’s associated with patachitra

Interviewer: Now you are living in a harmonious way with other religious communities. What if there’s a religious attack, where your lifestyle, your customs get questioned because you follow a certain religion? Would you give up your practices? Would you change your lifestyle?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Patuas, as a community, try to maintain communal harmony. They try accommodating everyone, explaining, simplifying things for everyone. We, as a community, convey a certain kind of social message. We try painting patas on communal harmony and spread this message all across, including to places where Hindu Muslim riots take place. We try establishing the fact that we are humans first. There’s no truth beyond this identity. We try to spread such positive messages. Despite these, if an attack on our community really happens, that would be an extremely unfortunate incident. But we have a mosque in our village. We also have pujas; in fact, we celebrate Kalipuja here. It’s not that we have chosen a particular path. In some way, we can be compared to Lalon Fakir as well. 

Interviewer: Yes. That becomes evident through your paintings as well. 

Interviewer: We have come to know that earlier your work was always considered to be a collective endeavour. If someone from the village painted a pata, the ownership would be claimed by the entire community. But nowadays, it has changed. Individual patuas are claiming ownership of their own creations. So, how much do you think this has actually taken place?

Bahadur Chitrakar: There’s a prevalent practice in our village of putting the village’s name (Naya) first, no matter who the painter is. Whenever someone asks who the painter is, or where have you come from. We say that we are from the village Naya, the village of patachitras. That’s it. 

Interviewer: What about the individual artist’s name?

Bahadur Chitrakar: The name of the artist would definitely be there.  The one who has painted would obviously be mentioned. But the name of Naya is always tagged. 

Interviewer: So, the most important thing about your paintings is the fact that it is from the village Naya. 

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes, absolutely. That is the primary thing. The name of the artist comes next. However, the individual artist must also be mentioned. Usually, that is what usually happens. 

Interviewer: When the tsunami took place, patachitras were also composed based on that disaster. There were several other patas that have been composed on similar contemporary social events. Would you be able to elaborate  on that? Who were the ones to first come up with patachitras on these themes? Do they claim ownership of such patas? 

Bahadur Chitrakar: No. As I mentioned earlier, whenever a patua comes across an event, s/he composes a patachitra based on that. They sell these patachitras, as well as wander about villages conveying certain messages. When the tsunami took place, we were in Delhi. Few of us were working for a gentleman called Rajeev Sethi. Then, he was the one who told us that such a natural calamity had taken place. He also asked us to paint something based on this. He gave us a detailed account of the tsunami, and then we were asked to both paint a patachitra as well as compose a song on this subject. At that time, quite a few of us composed patachitra on that. When we came back to our village, we found out that the same subject was being painted on here as well. This is what happens. Whenever a major event takes place, everyone starts composing that. For instance, when the earthquake took place in Maharashtra, everybody started painting on it. A similar thing happened when we were told about pulse polio as well. Again, when we were told about the dowry system, all of us started painting on that particular subject.  Likewise, when we were told about HIV, everybody started composing on that. You’ll now find patachitras even on the Nirbhaya incident which took place in Delhi. Basically, whenever a major event takes place, a patachitra gets composed. 

Interviewer: Songs are also composed. Right?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Yes. Songs are also composed. 

Interviewer: You just mentioned a name (Rajeev Sethi). So, if anyone from abroad or from another state asks you to come over and compose patachitra, you would accept the invitation. Right?

Bahadur Chitrakar: Of course. We travel to several places for our work. We don’t just confine ourselves to this particular place and work.  Whenever we are invited to exhibitions, fairs, or for personal customized patachitras, we accept the invitation and go over to that place. 

Interviewer: Would you be able to throw light on the patuas who first created the mythological patas. 

Bahadur Chitrakar: I have heard this but I haven’t seen it myself.

Interviewer: I asked you because I thought you might have heard something.  Whatever you have heard since childhood…

Bahadur Chitrakar: What I have heard is that the earlier patuas had a different style of painting.  It all depended on which period one belonged to. It drew its essence from the prevalent lifestyle, the prevalent clothing styles of that particular period.  If you look at patachitras now, and if you look at a patachitra dating 200 years back, you’ll find that the clothes then were all white and of a different pattern. Now you’ll find a different style of clothing. Patuas have tried their level best to retain some of those practices and to enmesh both the age-old tradition and the contemporary. Even till this date, patuas have been able to do that. For instance, I have patachitras dating back to the Mughal era as well. I can show you the patachitras. The clothing, the lifestyle depicted, showcased the way things were during that period. Again, if you look at the patachitras from the Indus Valley Civilisation era, you’ll find that the crown, the clothes are a bit different. Now we paint ministers. Their clothing is different. Back then, mythological characters used to be depicted and, hence, a different clothing pattern was depicted. Now you have all these jackets, suits etc. For instance, if someone asks me to draw a patachitra depicting the Prime Minister, I won’t draw him in an attire like that of a king. But I’ll have to paint him in a jacket, suit and tie, just like a minister dresses in real life. A patua draws exactly what he sees – how people dress, how they behave. 

Interviewer: In the last fifteen to twenty years, our lives have changed drastically, especially with the mobile phones in our hands, our entire lifestyles have altered. How much do you think the lives and the painting styles of patuas have been affected in the last few years?Bahadur Chitrakar: Before the advent of the television, there was great enthusiasm amongst people for viewing patachitras. But after that, people lost interest and they began asking, “should we watch television or should we make time for patachitras?” Now again that interest has been revived and they have realized that television isn’t that good. Patachitras are better. Earlier patuas visited these rural places quite frequently. But that practice of wandering about villages and singing/displaying patachitra has reduced. Now we only visit when we are invited to exhibitions or fairs. We are invited to Kolkata, Delhi and even abroad.

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