In West Bengal, there is a village where women known as Chitrakar are the bearers of a tradition dating back over 2,500 years: the painting of singing scrolls called Patachitra, or scrolls.

The term comes from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning cloth, and chitra, meaning image, hence “images on cloth.”

These are colorful strips of paper or fabric, in various sizes, painted primarily with natural dyes obtained from local flowers and plants, following a millennia-old technique whose main purpose is storytelling.

The Chitrakar women accompany the slow unrolling of these panels with songs that narrate their contents. The stories they tell have evolved: alongside classic themes recounting the myths of Hindu deities or aspects of nature, we now find scrolls that address political and contemporary issues, such as the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, the sinking of the Titanic, the tsunami tragedy, the Covid-19 pandemic as experienced by the female community, and even issues related to violence against women.

They exhibit their works as they travel through villages and states across India. Patachitra, in addition to its high artistic value, also has a profound social and cultural impact: through their performances, the Chitrakar women raise awareness of important issues even among the less privileged who have limited access to information, including the illiterate. For the Chitrakar women, Patachitra art represents a powerful form of economic independence and self-determination, giving voice to Indian women’s struggle for equality. [Official Website]