Return of the ‘Patna Kalam’
Folk art
The eastern state of Bihar is known for its highly stylised Mithila and Madhubani painting traditions. But very few are aware about an equally popular folk-based school of painting, which has survived in the region for more than 200 years — the Patna Kalam.
By making their 2010 calendar as a series of Patna Kalam paintings, the government of Bihar has, for the first time since independence, revived this 250-year-old school of miniature paintings. The eastern state of Bihar is known for its highly stylised Mithila and Madhubani painting traditions. But very few are aware about an equally popular folk-based school of painting, which has survived in the region for more than 200 years — the Patna Kalam.
“The objective behind publishing this theme-based 2010 calendar is to highlight Bihar’s rich heritage of art and culture,” remarked Rajesh Bhushan, cultural secretary of the Bihar government and added, “It will make people aware of the exquisite paintings of Patna Kalam that lent a unique cultural identity to Bihar.”
Bhushan added that one of the salient features of Patna Kalam was that all paintings depicted the contemporary socio- political life of Bihar with special emphasis on the common man. Most of these paintings depicted the lives of the deprived sections of society, such as the washerman, barber, cobbler, cook, street performers and so on.
There were three recognised schools of Indian paintings in the mid-18th century — Mughal, Anglo-Indian and Pahari. But Patna Kalam, an offshoot of these, caught the connoisseurs eye for its clear stylistic difference and unusual use of water colours. For the first time, there was a rich coherence between realism and visual perspective. It was a rare combination and a bold concept, distinct from the other paintings of the time.
All these factors made Patna Kalam popular in markets as far away as London. This style combined elements of the Mughal and British styles of paintings so well, that it was called the Feringhee Kalam (the White man’s art). The paintings were done on surfaces as diverse as paper, mica and even ivory diskettes, that were used as brooches.
That it was the world’s first independent school of painting which dealt exclusively with the commoner and his lifestyle also helped Patna Kalam paintings gain in popularity. The subjects of these paintings had always been the common man and his mundane routines. It’s basically a miniature form of painting which has, because of its unique style and form, occupied separate shelves at art galleries in London and museums in Prague.
But unfortunately, unlike the world-famous and more acclaimed Mithila paintings, Patna Kalam has not received its due share of attention. Patna-based artist Amaresh Kumar insists and adds that the eponymous painting was far superior to the more popular Mithila paintings. But “Mithila paintings were marketed in an organised manner both at home and abroad. Also, Mithila painting is a folk form which could be easily transferred from one generation to another.”
Some famous painters of Patna Kalam were Sewak Ram, Hulas Lall, Shiv Lal, Shiva Dayal, Mahadeo Lal and Ishwari Prasad Verma. The painters used to extract colours indigenously from plants, barks, flowers and metals. Generally they painted on glass, mica and ivory sheets. These paintings are painted straightway with the brush without using the pencil to delineate the contours of the picture.
This technique was commonly known as Kajli Siyahi. The features of the figures of these paintings are characterised by the pointed noses, heavy eyebrows, lean and gaunt faces, sunken and deep-set staring eyes and big moustaches. The principal centres were Patna, Danapur and Arrah. One of the important characteristic of Patna Kalam is that usually they do not paint any landscape, foreground or background. Another unique feature of this school of painting was the development in the shading of solid forms.
Since Independence, the Patna Kalam was on a gradual decline, with no new faces coming forward to carry on this ancient tradition. Ishwari Prasad Varma was the last known practising Patna Kalam master artist in India.
He died about 20 years ago and there has been no one to carry the tradition after him. As of now, only three collections of Patna Kalam paintings exist in Bihar, one at the Patna Museum, and others at Khuda Baksh library, Patna, and Patna University’s College of Arts and Crafts. The Patna Kalam flourished only as long as its Western patrons existed.
