Indian storytelling traditions are ancient and venerable art form that humans have transmuted into a variety of mediums for diverse purposes. From oral traditions, to visual arts (paintings, sculptures), dance, theater, later to books, to cinema, and recently to virtual environments, the method of the narrative has undergone constant technological innovations to present a lived experience.

Traditional narrative pictorial forms from India mainly Patachitra of Bengal and Jharkhand could well are considered precursors to cinematic imaginary. Fantastic and vivid, these full-blooded audio-visual dramas unroll themselves in yards, in a multi-coloured, sequential progression, or play with the dynamics of moving forms and changing scales.

The images are accompanied by vigorous musical narration, sung out in ballad form, blank verse and theatrical dialogue. Often the craftsperson as a painter is also the poet, lyricist, composer and performer; in other words he is ‘a complete, all in one artist’ One may search the world over, but it would be difficult to find similar equations in terms of spontaneity, uniqueness and immediacy of impact, they continue to hold the imagination of audiences that are sadly shrinking by the day in this age of digital media.

Over the past 100 years, and ever so rapidly since the past decades, the motion picture has not only set new paradigms for visual imagery by way of telling a story, but also in actively shaping individual and collective identities. Like any active institution in the social order, a meaningful discourse on the power of illustrative narratives would then necessitate an enquiry into evolutionary origins and original forms as the means of appreciating its later manifestations.

The Indian tradition of storytelling, accompanied by painted panels or scrolls, can be traced back through literary evidence to at least the second century BC and are known to have existed almost all over the subcontinent. Buddhist, Jaina and Brahminical literature contains abundant references to the art of painted scrolls (Patachitras) which were exhibited to educate and to entertain the people. Classical Sanskrit literature has several references to Yama Patas. Narrative paintings are still produced in Rajasthan (Phad and Kavad ), Gujarat (Garodas), Orissa (Patachitra), Assam (Ojapali) and a few Deccani examples like Chitrakathi in Maharastra, Cherial scrolls of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and of course the Jadu Pats of Jharkhand and Patachitras of Bengal.

This striking living art form, far predating celluloid imagery, can be traced back through literary evidence, at least to the second century BC and were known to have existed almost all over the South Asian sub-continent.

References of the Chitrakars can be found in epics like Bana’s Harshacharitam and Vishakhdatta’s Mudrarakshasam. Chanakya, the great administrator in the court of Chandragupta Mourya, used them as his espionage agents to gather information from the villages. It is said and now, is established that during medieval period many kings used them as their propaganda and espionage agents for their ability to penetrate to the very core of the society in pretext of showing the Patas.

In ancient India, these picture-storytellers were known by various names such as Saubhikas, Yamapatakas, Mankhas, Chitrakathis, Chitrakars and Pratimadhars, traditionally who used scrolls or single sheet pictures made on cloth or on wooden board to dramatize didactic stories, often of a religious nature. And their counterparts can be found in twentieth century India in states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharastra, Mysore, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Still tucked away and barely surviving in small villages of Bengal, Jharkand, Orissa, Andhra, Telengana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, these pictorial narrative devices of entirely hand-painted ‘motion pictures’ has the potential of quietly continuing to mature, to evolve, with the sweep of historic time, adapting its numerous themes harmoniously to a changing society. In other words, they also serve purpose as a ‘journalist’ painting and showing Pats on current affairs like attack on American Twin Towers (9/11), Tsunami, HIV (AIDS) etc. 

They are the original audio-visual entertainers. The Chitrakars or Patuas are basically entertainers who communicate their message through traditional mode of audio-visual communication i.e. Patachitra. The message could be a mythological story, a social one or of most contemporary issues.

This tradition of storytelling with visual support can be seen in the early Indian sculptures at Sanchi, Bharhut and Amaravati, which are highly narrative in character. These panels are three dimensional ‘illustrated books’ to be read and understand by all including unlettered. The roots of these are lying in the ancient form of storytelling. It also proves that the power of audio-visual was discovered by our ancestors early, the cave dwellers communicate their thoughts effectively by painting a hunting plan or something else like festive scenes on the walls of the caves. At Bharhut and Sanchi, the gate architraves ending in volutes give the appearance of carved scrolls. When viewed together with two supporting columns on which the ‘lithic scrolls’ are placed, the gates (Torans) give the impression of the stage set for a performance. Thus the gates can be understood as the monumental representations of the way in which the picture-storytelling was performed in India. It can be assumed that the gates of the Stupas has been inspired by the format of painted scrolls and the early Indian narrative sculptures was rooted in the tradition of the early practice of narrating stories with visual aid, a practice still continuing in folk art forms.

The Chitrakars (Patuas) paint a story in a sequence on a scroll (Pata) of paper or cloth and showing with the help of related narrative lyrics. Generally a single story is painted on a Pat but there are specimens when two or three stories painted parallel in a single scroll. (Interestingly in some Pats, after the main story ends, last few panels are dedicated to “Yama Pat”). They resort to chronological sequencing of a story and while doing so they visualize and paint the episode of a definite moment, when a reference to it becomes imminent in the oral narrative.  

One of the most crucial features of visual narratives in Indian art is the manner in which the spaces of time are comprehended and incorporated in the work of art. They divide a story, song or verb into several episodes (depending on prefixed or available space) and visualize accordingly. The painted details in the particular painting (panel) depends on the duration of space and time in that particular narration in the episode. Patachitra, the living art form far predating celluloid imagery that that swept the mass imagination since the mid-ninteenth century.  Interestingly, the visualization is very similar to the way a film maker or (precisely) an animator prepares a storyboard. It can now be said that the tradition of Indian Picture Story-telling is the precursor of modern Indian cinema. The recent finding of an American research is that the Bengal Patachitras are themother of all comic strips in the world, although I could not check the authenticity of it.

The Chitrakars  or Patuas are using vegetable or earth colours which they obtain by grinding or burning some stones, extract of some flowers and leaves and vegetables. The colours are then mixed with natural gum extracted from Bael (Aegle mermalos) or by boiling Tamarind (Tamarindos indica) seed to make the colours applicable. Previously a long thin cloth (mostly discarded cotton Dhuti or Saree) is treated and pasted together in layers with coatings of chalk-white (Khari Mati) and mixed with gum and smoothened by rubbing with a smooth round stone to prepare the surface suitable to paint. However, currently the use of paper and commercial factory made water colours are popular among Patuas.

The drawings are free from external influences and the drawings are simple, bold and spontaneous in character. While subjects are basically the same, the depiction and the painting style differ from artist to artist. This tradition has been carried through the ages often with individualistic variations.

About the Author

Ravi Kant Dwivedi

Graduated in Fine arts from Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan. He is a Photographer, Documentary Film Maker and Cultural Ethnographer. With a rucksack, sleeping bag and camera, Ravi travelled extensively, mostly on foot, to the very remote interiors of rural and tribal belts of Eastern India. For the last four decades he is involved in research and documentation of Folk and Tribal art and culture. Had witnessed and documented very rare rituals and cultural practices. Chadar Badar, a unique form of tribal puppetry by Santhal adivasis, was discovered and revived by him.

His research papers, articles, reviews and photographs had published in many books, journals and magazines in India and abroad.