Jharkhand Tribals Wish to Protect Traditional Art Forms From Extinction For many generations, the tribal artists

in Jharkhand have nurtured the art of scroll painting which has long been used during story telling performances by them. Today, this art form known as 'Paitkar' painting is struggling for survival. Fearing extinction of this art form, a group of artists in Jharkhand's Amadubi village has vowed to revive it. The otherwise shy and reclusive tribals are now trying to rally younger generation to infuse life into the dying style of paintings that depict folk songs, legends and religious epics on canvas. "Paitkar painting is a traditional style of paintings that we work to keep alive for the benefit of the people. It has a colourful history and steeped in Bengali culture. It involves worship of the Goddess Mansa, the tradition of giving alms and performing yajna (fire ritual)," said Anil Chitrakar, the painter who uses the scrolls to narrate a tale. "The tribals sit through out the story-telling session which involves scroll paintings and it is supported by traditional songs. These paintings give a philosophical view about life and death," said Anil. Anil's mission is to hold an open-air school for the village children and teach them how to create the Paitkar paintings in scroll form. According to the local keepers of the story telling tradition through Paitkar paintings dates back to around five centuries. It involves the depiction of tales of Indian mythology or local folklore on paper that run on a scroll. This narration is now done on paper and it is derived from traditional wall paintings. The handmade paper is treated with earth and glue, and the designs are brushed on in waterbased paint made from natural pigments. The designs get a different touch and texture as artists use unusual medium like a comb through the paint. Typical subjects include animals, birds, and plants. The indigenous paintings have been handed down from generation to generation. The practitioners of the art of 'Paitkar' painting are individuals coming from some specific families in Amadubi village. "This art is vanishing and our gurus (teachers) learnt it from their elders. That is why we have come ahead, learnt it ourselves and are now egging on the younger generation to take it up, learn it so that it does not vanish," said Vijay Chitrakar, who has enrolled himself for a training session in Paitkar art form.

Vijay says none of the raw material is easily available, and is expensive and often, they must travel deep into jungles to obtain it. "We use natural colours instead of modern dyes or colours. There is the ochre colour derived from a certain kind of earth. Then, there are colours we obtain from crushed stone, leaves of certain trees, and their beans. None of these are easily available, are expensive and often, we have to travel deep into jungles to obtain them. Then the method of extraction is also tedious, as we grind them to derive the required dyes," Vijay added. Those making efforts to propagate the traditional art form are confident that they will be able to carry the torch ahead.