Chowkpurana or Chowk-Purana is a traditional folk art that is practiced widely in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and some parts of Uttar Pradesh. Chowkpurana is the practice of decorating floors and walls with various designs according to the regions which are made of rice and flour. Traditionally, this art has been practiced by women during various festivals like Holi, Diwali, etc. The common motifs are flowers, creepers, plants, peacocks, and different geometrical patterns in vertical, horizontal, and oblique lines.
All about the art form
The word 'Chowk Purana' is a combination of two words, Chowk means square and Purana means to fill. A Chowk is also meant as an 'auspicious area of the home' and Purana means 'drawing on floors and walls'. It is assumed that this wall and floor painting tradition is more than a thousand years old as the common motifs of Chowkpurana do resemble that of village potter's toys or Indus valley figurines.
Techniques of the Art
Chowkpurana, like other traditional wall and floor paintings, is done mainly by women during special occasions and festivals. In Uttar Pradesh, Mud walls and floors are first plastered and cleaned with cow dung and then whitewashed. After it has dried, the surface is smoothed with a round stone. The process of applying cow dung is known as Lipna. The night before this is done, the Geru is prepared by soaking in water and spread over the area where the design will be drawn. Then, the artists draw the designs using flour and rice paste. This paste is made by soaking the rice in water on the day of painting and then grounding it finally the grounded rice paste is mixed in water. The background is painted with brown coloured earth (Losthi).
In Punjab, the Chowk square is drawn using flour and turmeric. They either use brushes or a piece of cloth or cotton dipped in the paste and squeeze the paste to the fingertips. The designs are drawn with the help of the paste on the fingertips. The artists first put some dots and join them with lines to draw various shapes and designs. Chowkpurana is drawn on occasions like marriage, baby showers, and festivals, and motifs like Swastika, geometrical patterns, flowers, creepers, etc are drawn. Besides rice flour paste and turmeric, sindoor (vermilion) is also used to draw coloured chowks.
Phulkari Chowk
In Punjab, sometimes some chowks are drawn using flour and colors with motifs that are used to make Phulkari embroidery, a typical folk embroidery style of Punjab. The specialty of this type of chowk is the motifs drawn are mostly that of birds, trees, leaves, branches, creepers, etc and bright colors are used to highlight them. The branches and leaves are painted with green color and red, white, and yellow colors are used for making flowers like Lotus and rose. Like normal chowks, the Phulkari chowk is also drawn by first drawing a square with flour. Then the designs are drawn inside the square using dots, which are drawn using red sindoor ( vermilion)and lines.
Chetrau Chowk
This is also a special type of Chowk in Uttar Pradesh where the painting is done on the threshold of the house. This Chowkpurana style is also known as Chiteri. The main motif of this style is the image of Lord Ganesha. The colors used in this form are yellow, blue, and green. This special form is mainly done at weddings.
Current Scenario
This thousand-year-old traditional floor and mud wall painting is well preserved and still carried forward with a lot of enthusiasm. The teachings of the art form are passed on from generation to generation. Chowkpurana has also become a part of religious customs like Rangoli and Alpana paintings as they are practiced during such auspicious moments in the hope of receiving good luck and prosperity. Nowadays many women Chowkpurana artists are bringing up the typical painting style on fabrics and designing sarees, garments, face masks, and wall hangings and are selling them in shops and fairs or through digital platforms. ARTSofINDIA.in is an online platform that helps Chowkpurana artists display and sell their traditional artworks to a huge mass of buyers.
Picture Source: Adobe Stock
