Research project

(Cont.)Interviewed Patachitra artist – Anwar At Dastkaar Fair, New Delhi

Sur

Once the story is decided, special sur is prepared for it. This is an important identity of Bengal Patachitra.

Sur is prepared depending on the subject of story. There are different sur for different stories such as

-Happy

-Sad

- Blaming someone (Doshi karar/ Insaan ko kos rahe hai

Example for the story on Tsunami, the sur prepared had sorrow feeling of a sudden incident happening which destroyed life of many people.

Once the sur is prepared, words (bol) are added to it in Bengali language.

Patachitra and the Urban Market Scenario

Patuas believe that powerful stories will always be the strongest element which makes Patachitra unique but these days attractive visual presentation is becoming more and more important. This is the first step to catch the attention of the buyer. Thus Patuas have now become more conscious about the colour combinations, colour applications, sharp strong outlines and many more to attract the target audience.

Even the length of Patachitra scrolls plays an important role. Earlier the Patachitra scrolls were made about 15-20 feet long. But seeing today’s market they are reduced and brought down to maximum 10-12 feet. The length of scrolls is decreasing more and more offering a lot of variety to fit in the urban market buying structure.