The culture, traditions, and history of INDIA are extremely fascinating. India has earned huge respect and appreciation from all over the world for its unique art forms. CHITRAKATHI PAINTING is one of the richest, traditional and special art forms of MAHARASHTRA. Practiced by the Thakar tribal community this art form is almost extinct in Maharashtra. At present few families in the Pinguli village near Kudal practice this art form which is located in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. A group of migrating storytellers, CHITRAKATHI artists are found in MAHARASHTRA and in some parts of KARNATAKA AND ANDHRA PRADESH. ART and STORYTELLING combine to form CHITRAKATHI. 

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF CHITRAKATHI PAINTING:

CHITRAKATHI PAINTING is believed to have evolved around the 17-18th century. CHITRAKATHI is divided into two parts CHITRA meaning ‘PICTURE’ and KATHA is ‘STORY’. The demonstrator who used to depict the story with the help of some visual support is called CHITRAKATHI. RAMAYANA and MAHABHARATA as well as MYTHICAL FOLK TALES AND NARRATIVES from PURANAS are the main themes of CHITRAKATHI PAINTING. The greatest king, CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ revived this beautiful art form and brought it into the limelight when it was almost lost. It can be recognised in three forms: Picture stories, stringed wooden puppets, and leather shadow puppets. The picture stories are classified as ‘CHITRAKATHI’. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL CHITRAKATHI PAINTINGS:

CHITRAKATHI ARTWORK is done in a sequence of single sheets of drawing. All the paintings which belong to one story are stored in a bundle called ‘POTHI’. It is a set of pictures that contain 30 – 50 pages set in consecutive order. Some such POTHIS have been found which are around 300 years old whereas some are more recent about 50 – 60 years.

MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

These paintings are mainly done on PAPERS (sometimes handmade) or CANVAS SHEETS with the help of brushes. Natural colours are used to paint on papers that are obtained from organic sources. Bold and powerful images outlined in thick black colour are the main characteristics of CHITRAKATHI PAINTING. Even the brownish tones of stone colours are used to give an extraordinary effect. In the paintings, the figures are usually conventionalized.

RENOWNED ARTISTS OF CHITRAKATHI PAINTING:

Some renowned artists of CHITRAKATHI PAINTINGS are Jayashree Patankar, Alaka Bhandiwad, Indira Seshadri, Meenakshi Madan, Rajasri Manikandan, V Shanmughapriya, Shoba Rajagopalan, S Suresh and Vaishnavi Srikanth. Another name that deserves a special mention is Parshuram Gangawane who has made every effort to conserve this artistic legacy. 

CURRENT SCENARIO:

Recently Parshuram Gangawane has turned his cowshed into a small museum where he has displayed a variety of CHITRAKATHI ART. Here they put on sale various types of arts and other merchandise. Also, a special place has been reserved for the puppets. This art form is less popular among people. Hence, to spread awareness many workshops, training, seminars, and orientation programs are arranged. The government has taken the initiative to promote this art form to the world. Even educational institutions have come forward and helped many such organisations who are encouraging this dying art form. Various types of financial assistance and scholarships are being provided to those who have proceeded to conserve the legacy of CHITRAKATHI ART. 

CHITRAKATHI PAINTING is not so in demand among the mainstream masses. And for this reason, many later generations have been given education about this creative expression of India. 

But unfortunately, industrialization and globalization have highly affected folk culture and traditions. Even the folk artists of India and their arts are getting incorporated into the mainstream art hence losing the essence of original folk art. 

There are still several online websites that always try to encourage this type of hidden art form. Various types of home decor products like wall paintings, artistic lamps, and unique coasters are available across various online platforms, and ARTSofINDIA.in is one such platform that promotes CHITRAKATHI PAINTING. 

Online platforms like ARTSofINDIA.in have complimented this very well by hosting CHITRAKATHI PAINTINGS as wall decors and thus making this rare form of art available to you while staying in your home comfort. 


Picture Source: ARTSofINDIA.in