Exhibit of the week- 171 (07th to 13th September 2023)

Exhibit of the week- 171
(07th to 13th September 2023)

KRISHNA LEELA
A scroll painting depicting Krishna Leela

Patta Chitra is a cloth based traditional scroll painting found in West Bengal. Patta refers to the cloth and Chitra means painting. The painting potrays stories from the great Indian epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, Mangal kavya, sufi traditions as well as social issues. Traditionally the painters are known as Patua/ Chitrakar. The Patuas not only paint the story, they also sing self composed songs. The artisans use natural colours for making painting. The present object is a Patta Chitra named as Krishna Leela, where the artist painted Lord Krishna's beautiful and attractive forms. The artist depicted different scenes of Krishna's life like Krishna playing flute, Krishna and Radha standing under kadam tree. The artist showed Krishna in dark complexion, wearing peacock feather in his long black curly hair and having auspicious symbols on the sole of his feet. In another depiction, Radha is shown with the Gopikas going to the river Jamuna for fetching water where Lord Krishna is depicted playing the flute. The painting is made on handmade paper sewn together. The fabric from old sari is glued to the back to strengthen the Pat.

Acc. No. 2015.36
Local Name- Krishna Leela, a scroll painting depicting Krishna Leela
Community- Chitrakar
Locality- West Medinipur, West Bengal

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