Chronicle of real life on canvas

The women and children at a workshop to learn the Patna Kalam art in Patna were unaware of the art form. The art that owes its genesis and flourish to Patna of the 18th century to mid-20th century, graces the Victoria And Albert Museum in London but is lost and forgotten in the city of its origin. While the Madhubani and Tikuli folk artists of Bihar spawned a whole new movement in painting, it’s hard to find a contemporary artist of Patna Kalam.     

Can Patna’s forgotten Patna Kalam paintings find their way back? INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) Patna chapter, under Bhairav Lal Das, is trying hard to save this dying art by organising workshops to generate interest and create awareness about Patna Kalam.

Once patronised by British officials, European traders and wealthy landlords of Bihar in the 18th-19th centuries, these miniature paintings were a visual documentation of the day-to-day lives of the common people, much before the advent of photography. Due to its emergence in Patna and because it incorporated Mughal and Rajasthani miniature art and the minimalism of Western art to evolve a distinct art form, it was called Patna Kalam.

The East India Company employees found India exotic. They commissioned artists to capture the lives of common people — depicting cottage industries, vocations, lifestyle, native clothing and everyday life. Unlike other paintings of those times, Patna Kalam paintings were bereft of any ornamentation, subdued with neutral colours and the background was bare so that the subject of the painting doesn’t lose its distinction. The paintings were made of paper, mica and ivory. 

“In Indian art, several regional styles have developed, among which Patna Kalam is an important one,” said Shyam Sharma (Padma Shree awarded print artist). The art lasted from 1760 to 1949. “The artists of the new generation should paint contemporary society through Patna Kalam to revive it.” 

When the Mughal empire declined, the court artists fled to Bengal, finding patronage under nawabs and zamindars. But the Battle of Plassey weakened the nawabs and the governance of East India came under the British. The three states of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha came into existence. Patna, on the banks of River Ganga, had emerged as a trading hub of opium, sugar, spices and indigo. The Dutch, Chinese, Portuguese and British traders made it prosperous. The adjoining Danapur emerged as a major cantonment area.

Several artists who fled Delhi and settled in Murshidabad came to Patna. Some settled in the rich princely states of Purnea, Darbhanga, Gaya, Bettiah and Aara, while many chose Patna City.   The Europeans would customise paintings on their terms at a minimal cost. As the orders kept coming, the artists prospered and the art flourished. The British and European traders sent the paintings back home to show glimpses of daily life and the ground reality of India. Hence, the paintings were also known as the Company School of Painting or Company Qalam.

The Bihar Museum in Patna displays a few Patna Kalam paintings such as the iconic Golghar, and Ganga ghats, the sketch of khansama (cook), paintings of a dancer with her troupe, a cremation at a burning ghat, blacksmiths and a farmer with a loaded bullock cart, etc.

You can see the subdued colour scheme. The colours were all natural and extracted from plants or minerals.

The artists used charcoal or pencil for sketches. The miniature paintings were done on handmade paper, or mica, ivory and glass. For a brush, the soft squirrel tail hair was used, tied to a porcupine spike or peacock feather. The tail hair of goats, horses and pigs, was also used after dipping them into hot water, to make them soft.

Impressed by its artistic excellence, the British popularised Patna Kalam, holding its first exhibition in 1810 in London. As the demand swelled, the Patna Kalam artists established several workshops in Patna, earning money, fame and respect in society.

British Commissioner Taylor, Patna Collector W G Archer, his wife Mildred Archer and Sir Charles D’Oyly were instrumental in giving global recognition to the regional art. The art conservationists and princely states also gave a boost.

The early famous artists were Sewak Ramji Hulas Lal, Jairam Das and several others while the last known artists were Mahadeo Lal and Eshwari Prasad Verma. W G Archer bought 300 paintings of artist Eshwari Prasad Verma and took them to England.