Jaba Chitrakar

Transcript

Interviewer: What is your name?

Jaba Chitrakar: My name is Jaba Chitrakar.

Interviewer: How long have you been living here, in Naya?

Jaba Chitrakar: I have been living here in Naya for the last twenty-seven years now.

Interviewer: Have you migrated from somewhere else? 

Jaba Chitrakar: My native residence is at Shobong.  I got married and had to move to this place. 

Interviewer: My paternal family was involved in making straw mats. After I got married and settled down here, I started practising patachitra. 

Interviewer: Okay. So, your paternal family did not practise patachitra. Right?

Jaba Chitrakar: No. 

Interviewer: Did you learn patachitra only after coming to this place?

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes. I have learnt both painting patachitra and pata songs from my husband. 

Interviewer: Who was the eldest member amongst your in-laws?

Jaba Chitrakar: My husband’s maternal uncle was the eldest. He used to teach patachitra. Almost everyone out here has learnt from him. My husband has also learnt from his maternal uncle. He has also learnt from his elder brother and elder sister. Again, I have learnt from my husband. Even my children have learnt from him. 

Interviewer: How long have your in-laws been settled here?

Jaba Chitrakar: They have been staying here for quite a long time. I won’t be able to tell you the exact time span. 

Interviewer: So, your husband was born here at Naya?

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes. My husband, my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law – all of them were born here. 

Interviewer: Do you know who amongst your in-laws was the first to settle down in Naya?

Jaba Chitrakar: Well… I think it was my mother-in-law’s relative. I don’t know who exactly it was. But they have been living here for several years. I think it was my mother-in-law’s maternal uncle.  My husband’s maternal uncle then learnt from him. Then, from him, everybody else learnt. My mother-in-law used to say that their family was based in Kalighat. They used to make huge idols and were associated with painting. At Chaitanyapur also, they practised painting. They continued with it even after coming to this place.

Interviewer: How long have people been living here in Naya? I mean the patuas.

Jaba Chitrakar: For several years. 

Interviewer: Approximately, how long would that be?

Jaba Chitrakar:  My mother-in-law, her maternal uncle – they have all been here for quite  long. Even I won’t be able to tell you exactly how many years they have been living here. 

Background: This has been continuing for the last fourteen generations. 

Interviewer: There are some patuas in Purba Medinipur. Do you have any connection with them? 

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes. We often marry our children to patuas from that region. They also come here to exhibit and sell their paintings. We visit Purba Medinipur, too. But the number of patuas there is much less in comparison to the number of patuas staying here in Naya. Ours is famous. Actually, patachitra from Medinipur is well known. 

Interviewer: Which one is older – the patuas from Purba Medinipur or the one from Naya?

Jaba Chitrakar: No, the ones living here. There was a patua there called Niranjan Chitrakar. He used to paint patas and all. But the number of patachitra started declining there. An organisation called banglanatokCom came down to Naya. They surveyed the village and examined our works. We used to visit fairs. They assured us that they would help highlight our art form which was already in its decline. They opened a training centre for us. They also constructed a building for us. The building, however, got adversely affected by an earthquake. When we informed them about the condition of the building, they rebuilt it for us. That is the Reception Centre they have constructed for us. We get work assignments from there. Apart from individual work, we are also allotted work from the Centre. The same process was followed for patuas at Purba Medinipur as well. A training centre was built in Nandigram. 

Background: Teachers were sent from here to train them. 

Jaba Chitrakar: banglanatak.com organised a three-day fair for us. Customers started pouring in. The patuas from Purba Medinipur also started coming here with their patachitras. A three-day fair was similarly organised for the patuas there as well. A workshop was held in Naya where patuas from that region participated. A similar workshop was conducted in Purba Medinipur as well. Teachers were sent from Naya to train them. 

Interviewer: When you came here post-marriage, how many families did you find involved with patachitra? Has the number increased since then?

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes, the number has increased. The number back then was less. In fact, the number of patuas is four times the number that was there during that time. 

Interviewer: Why do you think the number is increasing? Is it because many people who had no hereditary association whatsoever with patachitra have also started embracing this art form?

Jaba Chitrakar: The population of the patuas is increasing. They have children and these children pursue patachitra as well. Also, there are instances where we marry our daughters to families where patachitra is not practised. But the son-in-law doesn’t want to work as a manual labourer and, therefore, wishes to take up patachitra as a profession. So, you’ll find several such couples in our village who have moved to Naya to pursue this. Now, the children of these patuas are also practising it. For instance, my sister-in-law (who is the eldest amongst the siblings) came back to Naya with her family and settled down here. They started painting patachitra and now it is being practised even by their children. So, this is how the population of patuas is gradually increasing.  

Interviewer: What is the most common theme for patas?

Jaba Chitrakar: The typical themes are the ones that have been practised for generations – the ones based on mythological stories. These include depictions of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Manasa Mangal, Chandi Mangal. Apart from these, we also paint on contemporary social events like the tsunami, the fall of the World Trade Centre, domestic violence against women, afforestation, the Nirbhaya rape incident etc. Sometimes, we are requested by customers to create patas on certain topics.  They narrate  certain stories to us and we paint accordingly. 

Interviewer: Earlier, there were long scrolls. Have you completely stopped painting such long scrolls nowadays?

Jaba Chitrakar: No, the long scrolls are still there. We have both long and short scrolls. People cannot buy long scrolls because of space crunch. So, they prefer the small, square patas. There are some customers who buy one or two long scrolls. But it’s more convenient to buy small patas. It is easier to get them framed. For example, within a limited space, you can accommodate at least ten small patas. But if someone buys a long scroll, he’ll be able to showcase just one painting. That is why the sale of smaller patas is always higher. 

Background: Moreover, smaller patas are more affordable. The longer ones are expensive. 

Jaba Chitrakar: We have now started painting on t-shirts, dupattas, and other garments (women’s kurtis, men’s kurtas). These items are also pretty popular. We also paint on several other decorative items like palm fans and jewellery boxes. 

Interviewer: Which pata is preferred by customers – the ones based on mythological stories or the ones based on contemporary social events?

Jaba Chitrakar: They buy both. Usually, the long scrolls are painted on mythological stories. But then, some stories like the Krishna Leela are depicted on smaller patas as well. The story of Krishna Leela can be depicted in just three scenes, and, therefore, this short scroll becomes convenient for buyers. Similarly, we narrate the Chandi Mangal using three to five short scenes. We try compressing such grand stories into short narrative sequences. 

Interviewer: What are the parameters based on which the price is determined?

Jaba Chitrakar: Usually the patas based on the Kalighat style are expensive. The Kalighat painting style relies largely on the interplay of light and shade. If a minor mistake occurs while colouring, the entire pata gets ruined. It requires a lot of patience and is very time-consuming. That is why those patas are priced higher. For instance, if a Kalighat pata costs three thousand rupees, a normal pata (based on tribal motifs, marriage of the fishes or perhaps on the goddess Durga) of the same size would cost just five hundred rupees.  

Interviewer: How expensive are these long scrolls? What is the profit margin for these scrolls?

Jaba Chitrakar: We have scrolls ranging from two thousand to ten thousand. 

Interviewer: Did your forefathers create long scrolls or were they, too, interested in making the shorter ones?

Jaba Chitrakar: No, they didn’t paint small patas. They painted only the long ones. They were not put up for sale. Who, in the villages, would buy such a long scroll? At that point of time, there was no television or cinema. So, our forefathers used to wander about villages displaying pata and singing pata songs. My husband went around doing the same. Even I went along once. We were assigned a task by the IIT Kharagpur to compose patas on the importance of pulse polio, the problems of malaria, dengue etc. We were asked to visit neighbourhoods and create awareness about these. We were paid for this work. 

Interviewer: Coming to the lyrics of the songs now… how much have the new songs based on contemporary social events changed in comparison to the ones that your forefathers used to sing?

Jaba Chitrakar: Not much. We have to maintain the same tune for the mythological patas. I don’t have the patas here. They are in the other house. I work here. 

For instance, there are two kinds of tunes for Manasa Mangal – one for the chorus and another one for solo performance. The one that is sung during solo performance is as follows:

Manasa, the light of the world,

All hail the goddess of venom.

She was born on a lotus and snakes were her pillows. Snakes formed her throne. Snakes formed the seat of the goddess to be worshipped. 

The second tune that is sung in the chorus is:

Why did you come to the lake, oh beautiful Behula?

The water you splash, touches me. I am the destroyer of venom. 

So, this is how I would sing one line, followed by the chorus. 

Again, pata songs on contemporary social events also have a chorus. 

Ladies and gentlemen… kindly plant trees.

Trees help us in various ways. It prevents soil erosion.

Ladies and gentlemen… kindly plant trees.

If you plant trees by the banks of ponds, the number of fishes would proliferate.

Trees help us by producing oxygen.

Ladies and gentlemen… kindly plant trees. 

Each song is unique in its own way. 

Interviewer: Do you have separate patuas for composing songs? 

Jaba Chitrakar: The pata songs based on mythological stories have been handed down by our forefathers. But the songs that are based on contemporary social events can be composed by us as well. 

Interviewer: How are you preparing the children for this occupation?

Jaba Chitrakar: The children are being trained here at the training centre, which was built by the organisation banglanatok.com. They, too, had asked us how our children acquire the skills of a patua. We had told them that they observe us when we are painting, singing songs, and gradually they, too, imbibe everything. They go to school, help us with other chores, as well as assist us in painting patachitra. They can paint and can sing songs. They take paint brushes and start imitating our strokes. The members of banglanatok.com had suggested that we formally train our children on Sundays. They should practise patachitra at least on that particular day of the week and that’ll help them learn better. That is how they partially learnt about the art form. But now that training doesn’t take place anymore. The children learn from their respective families. However, not all children learn patachitra. The ones, who are curious, learn patachitra. Our children used to come back from school and start painting. We have also learnt from our respective husbands. The training centres also taught us how to paint patas and how to sing pata songs. Not all patuas, however, have been able to learn the pata songs. The ones who practise singing have been able to pick up the pata songs. There are some other patuas who simply paint and do not practise singing. 

Interviewer: Children, these days, are getting educated. What if they want to pursue a different occupation, a different lifestyle? How would you react to that? Would you gladly accept it or would you insist on their pursuing only patachitra?

Jaba Chitrakar: No, we always want our next generation to continue painting. We want them to highlight our artwork. Patachitra has become a well-known art form now. We want them to pursue this. Even our children want the same. 

Interviewer: You just mentioned that this is a well-known form of art now. It is because of this patachitra that you have travelled far and wide. If you could kindly tell us something about that. 

Jaba Chitrakar: I have been to Paris twice. Last year I went to Sweden. This year I went to Japan. My daughter (the one who was working here) went to Germany this year. It has just been a month since my daughter and I came back from our respective trips. She left before I did.

Interviewer: How old is your daughter?

Jaba Chitrakar: My daughter is twenty years old. 

This is also my daughter. She has also been to several places. She went to Delhi and then… (what was the name of that place?)…

Background: I have been to Delhi, Kerala, Goa. 

Interviewer: Were these trips arranged by an organisation?

Jaba Chitrakar: The trips were arranged by banglanatakcom. Some trips are also arranged by the Delhi office. They send us an invitation letter or sometimes they call us up. They inform us about upcoming programmes, exhibitions and fairs and also ask us about our willingness to participate in these. Once we intimate them, they act accordingly. 

Interviewer: How do foreigners react to such a regional art form?

Jaba Chitrakar: They are extremely keen. There is a high demand for patachitra there. They like the songs as well. 

Interviewer: Okay. So they are interested in not only the paintings but the songs as well.

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes. 

Interviewer: Did you visit these countries as a member of a team?

Jaba Chitrakar: We have visited foreign countries as members of a team, as well as individual participants.

Interviewer: Suppose, I am invited as an individual member, in that case, I’ll be visiting alone. But if we are invited as a team, we would be going together. Usually, we require assistants. So, we tag along another person while visiting foreign countries.For instance, I’ll be visiting Kolkata tomorrow. I’ll be accompanied by two other people. 

Interviewer: How do people abroad react to such exhibitions? How was your experience?

Jaba Chitrakar: Abroad?

Interviewer: Yes, how was your experience? 

Jaba Chitrakar: Well… about my experience abroad… I was invited because I can paint and sing. They had contacted the office inquiring about patuas and that is where they got my contact number from. Our office sifts through all the works of patachitras and decides who is good and who is not. So, the discretion is completely theirs. Here, we have around eight to ten patuas who can be labelled good artists. They are the ones who are invited to foreign countries. The office arranges our visit to these places.

Interviewer: Is your painting style different from the rest? Is that why you get nominated to such exhibitions?

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes, the working style is of course different. In fact, compared to patachitra from all other places, ours is the best. 

Interviewer: Does the style vary from person to person? You just mentioned that even in your community there are a selected few who are really good artists. So, do you think that these people you mentioned have a different painting style? 

Jaba Chitrakar: Actually, the artist has to have a knowledge of both painting and singing. If a patua cannot sing, s/he would not be sent abroad for such exhibitions. What would s/he do there? Would s/he just paint? We have songs accompanying paintings. Again, there are times when we receive requests only for the song. While displaying our scrolls, we have to simultaneously sing. Not everyone can sing these songs.

Interviewer: You have learnt painting patachitra only after coming here. So, how different are your paintings from those of the other patuas?

Jaba Chitrakar: As I just mentioned, not everyone can sing. Pata songs are equally in demand. Organisers look for patuas who can both paint and sing. So, they select accordingly. Now, the songs are more important. You have to perform on stage, For instance, I have enough confidence to be able to deliver a stage performance. But if there are patuas who have stage-fright, how will they sing? Obviously, such patuas wouldn’t get selected. They would prefer patuas like us, who can sing. There’s no point inviting patuas who are incapable of that. 

Interviewer: Coming to your religious beliefs… are you all followers of the Islamic tradition?

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes.Our surname is Chitrakar but we are all Muslims. 

Interviewer: But you have a name which sounds like that of a Hindu.

Jaba Chitrakar: True. My name is Jaba Chitrakar. My husband’s name is Montu Chitrakar. My daughter’s name is Mousumi Chitrakar. I have another daughter whose name is Sonia Chitrakar. Sanjay Chitrakar is the name of my son. Someone else might have a Muslim name, like Rahim Chitrakar. In fact, the name of one of my nephews is Rahim Chitrakar. I have a brother-in-law who has the same name. 

Interviewer: Is there any particular reason behind your Hindu-like names?

Jaba Chitrakar: No, not really. It is completely up to one’s preference. A name has got to do nothing with one’s religious beliefs. But then, we were marginalised within our own community. We were looked down upon by orthodox Muslims, who do not paint. Initially, we did not share a cordial relationship with them. We were frowned upon because we paint images of Hindu deities and lead a partially Hindu lifestyle.  But now things have improved. They are willing to even marry their children to members of our community. They are ready to accept our daughters into their families and are also willing to assist our daughters in painting patachitra

Interviewer: Why are so many people expressing their interest in reviving this art form? Is it because of the financial stability that it has brought? 

Jaba Chitrakar: Yes, absolutely. Earlier, my husband used to go around villages begging for alms. Even I went around begging. My husband used to wander about villages displaying his patas. People would give me a handful of rice, some vegetables. Our family solely survived on whatever was given to us in alms. My brother-in-law, even my mother-in-law, roamed about villages doing the same. My mother-in-law used to make clay dolls and sell them in fairs. She also visited neighbouring places and sold them. But that did not fetch us enough money. We had a hand-to-mouth existence. Nowadays, we don’t need to visit villages anymore. We can sell our wares right from our homes. Buyers walk into our villages, go through our paintings and buy whichever appeals to them. That is how we earn. We are also invited to various places. Also, we visit several fairs. Earlier, fairs used to be held near the Science City, Kolkata. Now, it has moved to Rajarhat. We visit those fairs. We also used to visit book fairs, the Poush Mela at Santiniketan. We used to visit all kinds of fairs. Often, we were invited by people to participate in several fairs. They organised everything. They even paid the fare for travel. But whatever profit we made, was solely ours. 

Interviewer: As you said, your lifestyle is pretty flexible. You do not rigidly abide by all the dictates of your religion. What if a certain pressure is created by religious authorities to ensure that you follow the codes strictly? What would you do then?

Jaba Chitrakar: What exactly do you mean by following the codes strictly? I didn’t get it.

Interviewer: I mean, how would you react if you are asked to follow the Islamic tradition rigidly?

Jaba Chitrakar: We follow all the customs of our religion. We fast during Roja. We celebrate occasions like Eid, Bakr–Eid. Basically, we follow all the customs. But alongside, we also paint patachitras. This is a means of our livelihood. We cannot give this up. In fact, no one in our community can. 

Interviewer: When you visit fairs or go for an exhibition, how is your painting labelled? Is it simply labelled as a patachitra from the village Naya or is the individual name of the artist acknowledged?

Jaba Chitrakar: What happens is that whenever an organisation requires patuas, they give us a call. They record our names. Suppose, ten patuas are required. In that case, they’ll invite four patuas from Naya and just one patua from Nandigram, Purba Medinipur. Since we have a tie-up with banglanatok.com, more patuas are invited from this region. Moreover, almost all the patuas here are good in comparison to Purba Medinipur. If you find ten to twelve good patuas here, you’ll barely find two good patuas there. 

Interviewer: So, does the artist’s name come to the forefront?

Jaba Chitrakar: Of course. The artist’s name definitely gets acknowledged. You’ll get to know that such and such patua went to Delhi, and some other patua went to Goa. Another patua might have visited Mumbai. Individual artists are sent. So, their names definitely get highlighted. 

Interviewer: When a natural calamity takes place and a pata is made on that; patas on the tsunami may be taken as an example. Is that pata known by the patua’s name who had first composed the pata or is it known by the entire community who works on it? Would the name of the first individual surface up? Or would it be known as a work from the patua community at Naya?

Jaba Chitrakar: We paint and sing as individual patuas So, the name of the individual gets highlighted.

For instance, you have come here to conduct an interview. Whatever you have heard me say would be attributed to me. Right?  Similarly, patachitras bear individual names.

Interviewer: Would you be able to tell us who was the first one to create a patachitra on the tsunami?

Jaba Chitrakar: We were the first to create a patachitra on that topic. When the tsunami occurred, we were in Delhi. A person called Mr. Rajeev Sethi asked us if we could paint and compose a song on the tsunami. We said we’d be able to do that. There were quite a few patuas from our neighbourhood. When Mr. Rajeev Sethi  sounded us about composing the patachitra, our financial condition was not that good. He used to buy patachitras from us, though at a low rate. Several artists thronged his place. Not only patuas but artists associated with several other art forms also visited him. Artists associated with wood work, bamboo work, bauls, patuas – all used to visit this person. If we carried ten patas, he would choose only two out of the ten. If a pata was worth five thousand rupees, he would pay two thousand rupees for it. He used to pay half the price. So, he was the one who asked us to paint on the tsunami. We painted as well as composed songs on the given topic. 

Interviewer: Who composed the pata?

Jaba Chitrakar: We did it. We composed songs on the same topic but did it separately. So, there were various versions. There were twenty-five patuas from this village. There were twenty-five different songs composed on the same topic. But then, not everyone can compose songs. Perhaps, just ten of us were capable of doing that. However, Mr. Rajeev Sethi bought all the patas from all the twenty-five patuas. He clearly stated that he’ll buy our patas for two thousand rupees each and we may submit as many as we can. 

Interviewer: How did the tradition of patachitra begin? Where and when was the first pata created? Have you heard of any story revolving around that?

Jaba Chitrakar: Patas were initially composed at Chaitanyapur in Kalighat. After that, it came here. Patachitra has been practised by the people of Naya for a long time. Even before I came here post-marriage, people were engaged in this. I won’t be able to tell you how and when it exactly originated. But since the time I have moved here, I have always seen patachitra being practised. In fact, I have even heard my mother-in-law say that she too had witnessed her forefathers painting patachitra. So, this dates back to several years. There’s, however, a story that I have heard from my brother-in-law, as well as from my husband. There was a tiger and patachitra was first created in order to defeat that maneater. The people of the entire area were scared to step out of their houses. A person then came up with an idea. He said that a mirror could be placed underneath the tree where the tiger rests. When the tiger came, it saw its reflection in the mirror. It kicked the mirror into pieces. But that aggravated the problem further. It started seeing its reflection in a hundred more pieces. It got panic-stricken and, thus, died. After they got rid of it, the person who had first come up with the idea, started painting the entire story on a leaf – right from how the tiger had terrorized the people to how it eventually got killed. They didn’t have paper back then. So, they used to paint on leaves. The person then started visiting neighbouring villages and displaying his paintings and singing the entire sequence of events. 

If we don’t paint, how would we survive? How would we feed ourselves and our families? So, that is how patachitra began. 

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