Pats or scrolls were traditionally long and ranged between 3 to 25 feet and were conventionally painted on cloth. As there were no buyers for long scrolls, patuas were encouraged by their new patrons to paint short scrolls known as chauka pats that can be used as wall hangings that found many takers. They have also diversified into painting decorative objects, saris, stoles and t-shirts.
This section offers a representative selection of long scrolls, known as jarano pats, painted by the Naya patuas. Each of the patuas was asked to identify two to three samples and sing the accompanying song. Each scroll consists of a still image with lyrics translated into English and a link to the song.
The scrolls have been classified into two categories, mythological and social. Each of the categories is further subdivided; mythological into Hindu, Muslim and tribal and social into cataclysmic events and socialissues.
Mythological scrolls include three major themes, episodes from Hindu epics such as ‘Sita’s Abduction’ from the Ramayana and ‘Krishnaleela’ from the Mahabharata, Bangla Mangalkavyas like the ‘Manasamangal’, the story of the Muslim saint Satyapir and tribal myths like the ‘Fish’s wedding’. Social scrolls cover a number of contemporary issues such as ‘ 9/11’, ‘tsunami’, ‘tree plantation’, ‘communal harmony’ and ‘alcoholism’. Patuas responded to the Covid-19 crisis by creating social awareness scrolls that have been cataloged under social scrolls.