BharatNotes What is Pattachitra?
Pattachitra is a traditional scroll-painting form of eastern India. The name combines the Sanskrit patta (cloth/canvas) and chitra (picture). It is practised in two distinct regional streams — Odisha (Orissa) Pattachitra and Bengal Patachitra — both rendered on a cloth canvas using natural pigments, and both depicting predominantly mythological and devotional narratives.
Odisha Pattachitra is traced to around the 12th century CE, evolving under the patronage of the Jagannath Temple at Puri. When the temple idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are kept away from public view (the Anasara seclusion period), painted Pattachitra images traditionally served as ritual substitutes for the deities — the art was originally even called Anasar Patti.
Technique and Key Features
The canvas (patti) is prepared by pasting layers of cotton or tussar-silk cloth together with tamarind-seed paste, then coating it with a mixture of chalk and gum to give a smooth, leathery painting surface. Artists use natural colours — commonly white from conch shell (sankha), black from lamp soot (kala), red/vermilion (hingula), yellow from haritala stone, and earth/stone-derived green and brick-orange (geru).
Distinctive stylistic markers include bold lines, decorative floral borders, the absence of perspective/shading, richly ornamented figures, and stylised facial features.
| Feature | Odisha Pattachitra | Bengal Patachitra |
|---|---|---|
| Practising community | Chitrakar (Maharana/Mahapatra) | Patua / Chitrakar |
| Centre | Raghurajpur, Puri district | Naya village, Pingla block, West Medinipur |
| Typical themes | Jagannath cult, Krishna, Ramayana, Dasavatara | Mythology, folklore, social/contemporary themes |
| Distinctive practice | Temple-ritual substitute (Anasara) | Sung scroll narration (Pater Gaan) |
Geographical Indication Status
Both traditions are protected as Geographical Indications (GIs) under the handicrafts category:
- Orissa Pattachitra — GI registered, certificate granted 2008.
- Bengal Patachitra — registered as a GI on 28 March 2018 (GI Application No. 564), under Classes 16 and 24, with the cooperative Chitrataru (Naya village) as applicant.
Raghurajpur, the principal Pattachitra village in Odisha, was declared a heritage crafts village by INTACH in 2000, and houses well over a hundred artist households.
Significance and Current Status
Pattachitra is a living tradition that links sacred temple ritual, folk storytelling and rural craft economy. The GI tags help authenticate genuine work, curb imitation, and protect artisan livelihoods. Contemporary practitioners have diversified onto palm leaf, tussar-silk sarees, dress material and decor, broadening the market while sustaining the inherited technique. The form is widely cited as a model case of how Geographical Indication protection supports the survival of indigenous craft knowledge.
UPSC Angle
For Prelims, focus on the state association (Odisha and West Bengal), the etymology, the Jagannath/Anasara link, and GI-tag status — all common factual hooks. For Mains GS1, Pattachitra illustrates art under temple patronage and the preservation of intangible/tangible heritage; for GS3 it connects to GI as an IPR tool for rural livelihoods and craft revival.
