Patachitra (Scrolls)
Kalpa Vriksha
Abdul Chitrakar
Born c.1985, Naya, West Bengal, India
Jaba Chitrakar
Born 1960s, Sabangkhana, West Bengal, India
Madhu Chitrakar
Born 1967, Naya, West Bengal, India
Mantu Chitrakar
Born 1960s, Naya, West Bengal, India
Monimala Chitrakar
Born c.1970, Peora, West Bengal, India
Sonia Chitrakar
Born 1998, Naya, West Bengal, India
Live and work near Naya
Patachitra or pats are scroll paintings from West Bengal, intimately bound up with itinerant storytelling and songs. Historically, pats were cloth scrolls on which mythological or epic stories were painted as a sequence of frames. The artists would travel from one village to another slowly unrolling these and singing. Patachitras have been compared to cinema frames or animation, and are said to be one of the oldest forms of audio-visual communication. The Chitrakar (meaning 'image maker') community are clustered around a small village in West Bengal. They specialise in making Patachitra and have recently broadened the tradition to include contemporary local and global events. Continuing the ancient purpose of sharing information between villages, artists have begun telling stories as diverse as the Asian tsunami, the Gujarat earthquake, and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, as well as using the scrolls as an educational tool for advocating birth control, and awareness of the spread of HIV.
![Jaba Chitrakar / Sabangkhana, West Bengal, India b.c.1960 / Tsunami 2015 A detail view of a scroll painted in bright colours; this section includes people and fish leaping out of water, as well as the hands of someone with long, claw-like fingernails.](/system/files/styles/wide/private/object-images/PATACHITRA_CHITRAKAR.jpg?itok=joV6rmNe)
Jaba Chitrakar / Sabangkhana, West Bengal, India b.c.1960 / Tsunami (detail) 2015 / Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing / 304.8 x 55.9cm (approx.) / Purchased 2015 with funds from Rick and Carolle Wilkinson through the QAGOMA Foundation / © Jaba Chitrakar
![Jaba Chitrakar Artwork 9/11 this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2012-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.455_001_3.jpg?itok=io6L2ueB)
9/11 2012
- CHITRAKAR, Jaba - Creator
![Mantu Chitrakar Artwork 9/11 this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2015-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2015.207_001_3.jpg?itok=9FrvQE7V)
9/11 2015
- CHITRAKAR, Mantu - Creator
![Madhu Chitrakar Artwork French Revolution this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2010-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.450_001_4.jpg?itok=qKdAiYDm)
French Revolution 2010
- CHITRAKAR, Madhu - Creator
![Abdul Chitrakar Artwork Life of a girl child this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2012-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.020_001_3.jpg?itok=8PYbj42O)
Life of a girl child 2012
- CHITRAKAR, Abdul - Creator
![Mantu Chitrakar Artwork The Gujarat Earthquake this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2012-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2015.209_001_3.jpg?itok=7YQNMKy_)
The Gujarat Earthquake 2012
- CHITRAKAR, Mantu - Creator
![Sonia Chitrakar Artwork Santhal Story of Origin this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2015-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.015_001_4.jpg?itok=oOYrcgff)
Santhal Story of Origin 2015
- CHITRAKAR, Sonia - Creator
![Abdul Chitrakar Artwork Santhal Story of Origin this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2014-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.018_001_3.jpg?itok=CqFOntbO)
Santhal Story of Origin 2014
- CHITRAKAR, Abdul - Creator
![Madhu Chitrakar Artwork Tsunami this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2008-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.451_001_4.jpg?itok=boCGH9WB)
Tsunami 2008
- CHITRAKAR, Madhu - Creator
![Jaba Chitrakar Artwork Tsunami this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2015-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2015.205_001_3.jpg?itok=KQ58Am_-)
Tsunami 2015
- CHITRAKAR, Jaba - Creator
![Sonia Chitrakar Artwork Tsunami this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2012-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.017_001_4.jpg?itok=wLDnD5dY)
Tsunami 2012
- CHITRAKAR, Sonia - Creator
![Monimala Chitrakar Artwork Virus this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2015-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2015.210_001_4.jpg?itok=t5W8Nti5)
Virus 2015
- CHITRAKAR, Monimala - Creator
![Sonia Chitrakar Artwork Wedding of the birds this artwork made of Natural colour on mill-made paper with fabric backing, created in 2015-01-01](/system/files/styles/large/private/object-images/2016.016_001_4.jpg?itok=ir5aW8rw)
Wedding of the birds 2015
- CHITRAKAR, Sonia - Creator