In the age of technological advancement where all the facts and information are readily available at the tips of our fingers, going as far as some lesser known villages in Bengal to tell an entirely new way of story-telling exhibits a unique passion. Mandakranta Bose’s The Ramayana in Bengali Folk Painting exhibits one such love for Patas, also known as Patacitras.
Patas or Patacitras or Patuas refers to the unique art of scroll painting of Bengal, commonly painted with vegetable and other indigenous dyes in a vibrant and colourful style on handmade paper. The main aim of these scrolls was to narrate the epic tale of Ramayana through pictures and singing the stories.
Right from re-telling of every Kaand from the epic tale through pictorial representation to revelation of some quite never known before nuances of Patacitras, the book has done justice to the history and origination of Patuas and their art. The author has left no stone unturned, thus, displaying her immense love for everything historical which compels her to go back in time and come back with some little-known stories and facts to amaze the present generation with.
A noted Sanskrit scholar, Bose, has provided both the history of the patas and what we know about the history of the artist community through the documentation of the interest of the prominent collectors like Gurusaday Dutta and David McCutcheon. In several chapters, she discusses the depiction of the Ramayana in and as art, regional Ramayanas, the role of Ramayana in Bengali tradition and culture, the history of these chitrakaras and their status today. Influenced by the Ramayanas of Ramprasada and Jagadrama (father and son duo), and Dasarthi Raya, these narrations are based on Krttivasa’s Ramayana and has its own distinct feature.
Interestingly, these patas did not just talk about epic tales but also discussed social topics like the role of women in society such as the plight of women in Valmiki’s context, stories with moral and ethical lessons. Some chapters comprise her attempt to understand how this vibrant art form communicates the complexities and beauty of an ancient legend.