Rural Art Of India - The Patuas Of Bengal
Village 'Pingla' of West Bengal is a village of Painters. These village Painters are known as Patuas (Chitrakars). They are a traditional caste community of artists. They paint colourful scrolls which contains a story covering historic, current, religious, mythological and cultural events. The story depicted on the scrolls have a moral or a particular message to the viewers. A chitrakar also composes the lyrics of songs that accompany the paintings. They sing the stories depicted on the scrolls as they unfurls them before the audience. Men women and even children of this community (Chitrakar) are recognized as talented artists. This community of chitrakar has a tremendous creative potential. The proper exposure and proper opportunity could raise their income and life style a lot.
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| A typical scroll known as "Patachitra". |
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| A colourful view of the Patua Village. |
