My latest painting is my ardent effort to honor the Patachitra chitrakars of Orissa, a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. These chitrakars mainly reside in the village of Raghurajpur, in an area primarily dedicated to them, called the Chitrakar Sahe. This lies in Puri district, approximately 52 km (around 33 miles) from Bhubaneswar. The village of Raghurajpur, along with its neighbours Puri, Dandasahi and Khasposak, is well known for this artistry. The Pattachitra artists are called ‘Chitrakaars’ .(Painters), mainly belonging to the Maharanas and Mahapatras, Sahoo, and Swain families. There are 50‐60 families practicing Patachitra paintings and around 30‐40 families doing Palm leaf painting. This tradition is inherited in the form of a family sketch book, handed down over generations and cherished as a precious sacred possession. Patachitra is Orissa’s living tradition, an art form which mastered the special technique of painting, with perfection, on a cloth. Pata is a Sanskrit word meaning canvas, cloth or a veil and
chitrameans picture. This tradition has evolved gradually with time, where today’s Patachitra artists are seen experimenting with new mediums and with themes that are appealing to the current market, to keep this art form alive and flourishing. Initially made only for religious purposes and painted on a canvas, today’s market demands Patachitra on Tussar silk as wall hangings.
I have always been fascinated by the bold geometric lines, the bright colors, the intricate and detailed pictorial representations of mythological stories via this art form. In these paintings, the postures of the figures are very neatly and accurately defined. There is a repetition, and this as a style, creates an interesting aesthetic appeal. One of the other important aspects of patachitra is that it doesn’t incorporate any “Depth” or“Perspective Visualization”. Patachitra is a two dimensional art form. An interesting fact to note here is that the chitrakaars begin painting with white, followed by filling in the figures with variety of colors, and they end the painting once again with white, highlighting the entire composition.
The similar technique and style, when adapted to paint walls murals, is known as ‘Bhitti Chitra’. When it is engraved on a palm leaf, it is popularly known as ‘Tala Pata Chitra’ or ‘Pothi Chitra’. It is also experimented on variety of other objects and surfaces to create aesthetic pieces of art and meet the demands of today’s market.
The Painting Process can be listed in following steps:
The mythological scene depicted here is that of “Kaaliya Daman”.
In Hindu mythology, Kaliya was a very poisonous Naga(Snake) who lived in the Yamuna River, in Vrindavan, a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. This is the region where according to the Mahabharata, a grand Epic of Sanskrit literature dating back to the 3000BC, the deity Krishna spent his childhood days. Because of this Naga, the water of the Yamuna, for four leagues (approx. 13 miles), boiled and bubbles with his poison. There was no life possible near this river, no bird or beast went near it, and a lone Kadamba tree grew on the river bank. Kadamba tree is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia (genus name "Lamarckia"). Kadamb tree leaves are used for treating diabetes and a drug made from this tree is patented.
Kāliya’s original home actually wasn’t the Yamuna River. He was originally from Ramanaka Dwipa, but he had been driven away from there by the threats of Garuda (an eagle), the foe of all serpents. Garuda had been cursed by a yogi (refers to an ascetic practitioner of meditation and yoga) dwelling at Vrindavan. Due to this curse, Garuda could not come to Vrindavan without facing his death. Hence, Kāliya chose Vrindavan as his place of residence, since it was the only place safe from Garuda.
Once, Krishna and his friends were playing ball near the Yamuna River. Krishna is well known for his mischiefs as a kid, when growing up in Vrindavan. While playing, Krishna climbed up the Kadamba tree and hung over the river bank. Their ball fell into the river and Krishna jumped into the river for it. Kāliya rose out of the river, with his hundred and ten hoods, spewing poison everywhere. He wrapped himself around Krishna's body. Krishna fought back and Kāliya had to release him. Krishna sprang onto Kāliya's heads and danced on them. As a result, Kāliya began to die. But then the naga's wives came out of the river and prayed to Krishna with joined palms. They worshipped and asked for forgiveness from Krishna. They prayed and requested Krishna to spare their husband’s life.
Kāliya, recognizing the greatness of Krishna, surrendered, promising he would not harass anybody in the region anymore. So, Krishna pardoned him and then let him go free, but on one condition - to leave the Yamuna River and go back to Ramanaka Dwipa. Some identify this Island as Fiji (Well, that would have
to be a separate Write Up to analyze the mythological association of Ramanak
Dwipa with Fiji Islands).
Now, let’s try to interpret this mythological tale logically, as far as our understanding goes, based on all the research material and information available from our Puranas (a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography).
The history of Krishna and Kāliya is told in Chapter Sixteen of the Tenth Canto of the Bhagavata Purana.
A king of Kaliraman Jat gotra (clan), belonging to nagavanshi kshatriyas (i.e.,warriors) clan, was known as Kaliya. The descendants of this clan are found in present day Haryana and Punjab. Kala, Kalidhaman, Kalkhande, Kalirawan, Kalerana, Kalirawat, Kalirai, Kalu are the variations of the last name/surname originating from the same clan. This gotra is a branch of the Nagavanshi or the Nagas. There is a place called Kalirawan in Hisar district, Haryana associated with them.
It so happened that this King Kaliya ruled over the region near Mathura, on the banks of the Yamuna River. It is said that there exists an ancient fort of Kaliraman in ruins near Mathura. His fort was known as fort of Kalidheh. So, it appears that the “Kaliya Daman” episode of Mahabharata regarding Lord Krishna’s killing of a black python, Kaliya, can be related to Lord Krishna defeating a bad ruler from this clan. By killing King Kaliya Naga, Krishna brought an end to this clan’s rule in
Vrindavan.
chitrameans picture. This tradition has evolved gradually with time, where today’s Patachitra artists are seen experimenting with new mediums and with themes that are appealing to the current market, to keep this art form alive and flourishing. Initially made only for religious purposes and painted on a canvas, today’s market demands Patachitra on Tussar silk as wall hangings.
I have always been fascinated by the bold geometric lines, the bright colors, the intricate and detailed pictorial representations of mythological stories via this art form. In these paintings, the postures of the figures are very neatly and accurately defined. There is a repetition, and this as a style, creates an interesting aesthetic appeal. One of the other important aspects of patachitra is that it doesn’t incorporate any “Depth” or“Perspective Visualization”. Patachitra is a two dimensional art form. An interesting fact to note here is that the chitrakaars begin painting with white, followed by filling in the figures with variety of colors, and they end the painting once again with white, highlighting the entire composition.
The similar technique and style, when adapted to paint walls murals, is known as ‘Bhitti Chitra’. When it is engraved on a palm leaf, it is popularly known as ‘Tala Pata Chitra’ or ‘Pothi Chitra’. It is also experimented on variety of other objects and surfaces to create aesthetic pieces of art and meet the demands of today’s market.
The Painting Process can be listed in following steps:
- Borders are an integral part of patachitra and each painting begins with borders being painted first.
HB pencils are then used for rough sketches and drawings on the canvas. The figure outlines are sketched.
After sketching, comes the part where you color the bodies of the figures.
This is followed by coloring the attires/ clothes on these figures.
The figures are then beautified by adorning them with ornaments and flowers.
After filling all the colors, the motifs are then highlighted by thick black color
outlines.
The small and intricate motifs are highlighted in white, or with a tint of red, based on the motif’s artistic requirement.
All the facial features, such as eyes, eyebrows, nose, and lips are finely done at the very end.
The mythological scene depicted here is that of “Kaaliya Daman”.
In Hindu mythology, Kaliya was a very poisonous Naga(Snake) who lived in the Yamuna River, in Vrindavan, a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. This is the region where according to the Mahabharata, a grand Epic of Sanskrit literature dating back to the 3000BC, the deity Krishna spent his childhood days. Because of this Naga, the water of the Yamuna, for four leagues (approx. 13 miles), boiled and bubbles with his poison. There was no life possible near this river, no bird or beast went near it, and a lone Kadamba tree grew on the river bank. Kadamba tree is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia (genus name "Lamarckia"). Kadamb tree leaves are used for treating diabetes and a drug made from this tree is patented.
Kāliya’s original home actually wasn’t the Yamuna River. He was originally from Ramanaka Dwipa, but he had been driven away from there by the threats of Garuda (an eagle), the foe of all serpents. Garuda had been cursed by a yogi (refers to an ascetic practitioner of meditation and yoga) dwelling at Vrindavan. Due to this curse, Garuda could not come to Vrindavan without facing his death. Hence, Kāliya chose Vrindavan as his place of residence, since it was the only place safe from Garuda.
Once, Krishna and his friends were playing ball near the Yamuna River. Krishna is well known for his mischiefs as a kid, when growing up in Vrindavan. While playing, Krishna climbed up the Kadamba tree and hung over the river bank. Their ball fell into the river and Krishna jumped into the river for it. Kāliya rose out of the river, with his hundred and ten hoods, spewing poison everywhere. He wrapped himself around Krishna's body. Krishna fought back and Kāliya had to release him. Krishna sprang onto Kāliya's heads and danced on them. As a result, Kāliya began to die. But then the naga's wives came out of the river and prayed to Krishna with joined palms. They worshipped and asked for forgiveness from Krishna. They prayed and requested Krishna to spare their husband’s life.
Kāliya, recognizing the greatness of Krishna, surrendered, promising he would not harass anybody in the region anymore. So, Krishna pardoned him and then let him go free, but on one condition - to leave the Yamuna River and go back to Ramanaka Dwipa. Some identify this Island as Fiji (Well, that would have
to be a separate Write Up to analyze the mythological association of Ramanak
Dwipa with Fiji Islands).
Now, let’s try to interpret this mythological tale logically, as far as our understanding goes, based on all the research material and information available from our Puranas (a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography).
The history of Krishna and Kāliya is told in Chapter Sixteen of the Tenth Canto of the Bhagavata Purana.
A king of Kaliraman Jat gotra (clan), belonging to nagavanshi kshatriyas (i.e.,warriors) clan, was known as Kaliya. The descendants of this clan are found in present day Haryana and Punjab. Kala, Kalidhaman, Kalkhande, Kalirawan, Kalerana, Kalirawat, Kalirai, Kalu are the variations of the last name/surname originating from the same clan. This gotra is a branch of the Nagavanshi or the Nagas. There is a place called Kalirawan in Hisar district, Haryana associated with them.
It so happened that this King Kaliya ruled over the region near Mathura, on the banks of the Yamuna River. It is said that there exists an ancient fort of Kaliraman in ruins near Mathura. His fort was known as fort of Kalidheh. So, it appears that the “Kaliya Daman” episode of Mahabharata regarding Lord Krishna’s killing of a black python, Kaliya, can be related to Lord Krishna defeating a bad ruler from this clan. By killing King Kaliya Naga, Krishna brought an end to this clan’s rule in
Vrindavan.