Context: 

The first generation women patachitra artists of West Bengal sell their work online & are recognised world over, encouraging future generations to stay in the profession

Background:

Patachitra or Pattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal and parts of Bangladesh. Patachitra artform is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it.

About Patachitra Painting :

1. Patachitra painting dates back to the 12th century and its origins can be traced to the modern-day state of Odisha.
2. Pattachitra is one of the ancient artworks of Odisha, originally created for ritual use and as souvenirs for pilgrims to Puri, as well as other temples in Odisha
3. The word ‘patachitra’ is a combination of two words in the Sanskrit language, where ‘pata’ means ‘cloth’ and ‘chitra’ means ‘picture’.
4. It is a narrative scroll art and a form of storytelling, focusing on themes of mythology and culture.
5. It is difficult to determine the exact year when Patachitra as an art form reached Bengal but art historians believe that it occurred approximately three centuries ago. When people migrated from Odisha to Bengal back then, they brought the tradition of Patachitra with them. In their native homeland, they would worship Durga on Patachitra and carried this form of worship when they travelled to Bengal.