Wednesday 13 September 2023

Patachitra - Traditional Art of Odisha

 "Patachitra is the cloth scroll painting tradition from Odisha, dedicated to mythological and religious themes in Indian art. Bold, strong outlines, vibrant colours like white, red, yellow and black with decorative borders."

Apart from cloth & other materials, a locally-prepared canvas called Pata/Patta is also used for this amazing art style.

It is great to find correct information regarding the various arts of India in the report by India Today-
10 Distinct & Ethnic Paintings of India.


Apart from Patachitra, they have showcased nine other arts of India including- Kalighat painting.

It is a matter of great concern that a variety of different art of West Bengal like- Kalighat paintings & Bengal Scroll Paintings or Potua art, are now being showcased and sold under the name of "Patachitra".
It may be noted that the term- Patachitra- should actually refer to Odisha's art.

Patachitra is also written as Pattachitra.
Odisha has the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for - "Orissa Pattachitra" that it earned in 2008.

More information about Orissa Pattachitra GI in this post-


However, there is misinformation and misrepresentation.

We have been constantly sharing about the need to use original local names while promotion.

West Bengal applied for the GI of their local art as "Bengal Patachitra", and it was registered in 2018.
Why did they not use the names- "Bengal Pot - or Bengal Patua/Potua or Bengal Scroll Paintings" as their art is normally/locally called?
Also, Kalighat paintings are separate and have a distinct style from the Bengal Pot.


All paintings cannot and should not be sold as "Patachitra".
That dilutes the GI and causes confusion.

We request update of Bengal's art to reflect their local name and pronunciation.
They and others should not misuse Odisha's art's name.

Name, fame, and popularity is earned over a period of time.
Odisha's Patachitra art is associated with Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu and Puri Temple's culture.
From time immemorial, Patachitra has served as souvenir for tourists visiting Puri.
Puri is one of the Chaar Dhaam- i.e. four most important religious places of visit.
By using our popular name, others are piggy-backing on the success and gaining customers who may be tricked to purchase other art, technically not Patachitra, but masqueraing and cheating in the name of Patachitra.
This is a serious issue and needs to be stopped.

Have been trying to share and make all aware about the misuse of Patachitra/Pattachitra.
More here-

Another blog post-

http://www.anitaexplorer.com/2021/04/odisha-art-and-sweet-pattachitra-and.html


Image Courtesy: Above two images are screenshots from the India Today

Shouldn't art be referred by own local name? What do you feel?

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