Vibrant scroll paintings popularly known by pata-chitra, a traditional genre in Bangladeshi art scenario, by Nikhil Chandra Das are on display at the Gallery Jolrong in Niketan, Gulshan.
The art show titled ‘Bengal from Time Immemorial’ started on May 4 and will continue till May 19.
On the backdrop of changing socio –cultural circumstance, pata-chitra is losing its popularity in the rural areas and hardly practiced and performed by the urban artists currently. The number of artists working in this trend is alarmingly lessening over the recent years. Das is among the few artists who have been struggling to revive the traditional scroll painting against the urban setting.
The displayed artworks are the output of a workshop which was held on February this year and was organised by the gallery with the aim to rejuvenate and preserve various kinds of folk paintings.
“Having the gift of Nikhil Chandra Das’s intimate company during the workshop, we are happy and proud of arranging this exhibition,” said curator Shawon Akanda.
Artist Nikhil Chandra Das was born and grew up in Narail – a south-western district in Bangladesh. In his childhood, he had the opportunity to develop an intimacy with the legendary artist S M Sultan. Later, he got institutional education at the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University during the 1980s. But unlike others who eventually settled in Dhaka, he went back to his roots, Narail. While considering the tradition of painting in the Patchitra trend as part of his familial legacy, he has collected more than three hundred traditional “Pater Gaan” and followed the Pata-chitra trend in stylising his artistic techniques. He has taken the form of traditional Tepa dolls to be of some use in the language of his paintings. The themes of his paintings come up from events focusing on his village life, and he depends on different folk motifs in telling the narratives.
The colourful brushstrokes in his works depict the exquisiteness and dazzles of Bengal from time immemorial. The artworks touch the viewers’ hearts with soft caresses and make them proud of their identity and heritage.
In the opening ceremony, Orun Kumar Biswas and Orun Biswas performed traditional songs “Pater Gaan” songs.