This 2000-YO Scroll Art Once Told Epics — Now It’s Being Revived by Artists Across India

Long before cinema screens or printed books brought stories to life, India had scrolls, vividly painted, carefully crafted, and carried village to village by storytellers who sang as they revealed each scene. This was Pattachitra, an ancient art form whose name, taken from Sanskrit, translates simply as “cloth painting” (patta meaning cloth, chitra meaning picture). But what it offered was more than decoration; it was a moving archive of myths, morals, and memory.

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A storytelling tradition woven through time

The origins of Pattachitra stretch back over two thousand years, possibly as far as the Mauryan period in the third century BCE. Though the historical trail is fragmented, early Sanskrit texts such as the Brahma Vaivarta Purana mention travelling painters who carried stories across regions, not in books, but painted onto cloth or palm leaves.

These artists were known as ‘Patuas’ or ‘Chitrakars’. They were not just painters but narrators, performers, and social commentators. Armed with long scrolls stitched together from fabric panels, they journeyed from village to village, unrolling each one as they sang a corresponding verse. The result was a performance where word and image moved together, each frame a scene, and each verse a voice.

Watch the video here: 

In Odisha, especially around Puri, the tradition grew strongly rooted in local legends and temple culture. Scrolls from this region often portrayed well-known stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Jagannath tradition. Meanwhile, in West Bengal, the art evolved its own identity, longer scrolls, broader themes, and a repertoire that expanded beyond religion to include local history, satire, and social events.

Technique rooted in natural resources 

Pattachitra lived not just in the brush, but in memory, inherited through families like folklore itself. The materials were humble but meticulous. Cotton cloth was coated with a paste of tamarind seed and chalk to make it smooth and durable. Colours were extracted from natural sources such as stone, earth, conch shells, and soot, then mixed by hand.

But with the arrival of modern media in the 20th century, including books, newspapers, radio, and film, the role of the Patua diminished. People no longer gathered for scroll performances as they once had. Traditional patrons disappeared. Without demand, many artists were forced to abandon their craft. 

By the late 1900s, Pattachitra had become, in many places, a shadow of itself. What was once central to storytelling and social exchange was now considered a fading folk curiosity.

What is giving hope, and how can we help it survive?

While Pattachitra remains on the margins and is little known to most today, it is not entirely forgotten. Across India, a growing movement is working to revive and reimagine the art form through education, cultural programmes, and policy support.

• Government and NGO support: The Pattachitras of West Bengal and Odisha now hold Geographical Indication (GI) registration, Odisha in 2008 and Bengal in 2018, which protect and authenticate the art, while enabling artisans to access grants, schemes, and national recognition. Organisations like INTACH designated villages such as Raghurajpur as “Heritage Villages” and invested in infrastructure, training, and rural tourism development 

• Community and educational initiatives: Workshops in universities (for example, at SNDT Women’s University in January 2023) and local craft fairs bring Pattachitra artists together with young students and curious audiences, keeping traditional knowledge alive. Grassroots groups and cultural enterprises such as Banglanatak (UNESCO/EU‑backed) collaborate with over 3,000 artists to raise awareness, preserve livelihood, and support themes beyond mythology, ranging from health to women’s rights 

• Digital and exhibition platforms: Artisanal platforms and online marketplaces permit artisans to reach global audiences directly . Exhibitions both within India, including Odisha Crafts Mela, and international collaborations introduce Pattachitra to new collectors . Digitisation and virtual reality (VR) experiments are underway to preserve scrolls virtually, making them accessible worldwide 

• International recognition: In a diplomatic gesture in mid‑2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a Pattachitra painting from Odisha to the president of Croatia, generating international interest and boosting global appreciation for the craft 

A legacy in layers with reasons to believe in its future

Pattachitra is being reimagined not just as scrolls but also as motifs for home decor, fashion, and educational storytelling, while continuing to inspire local and global artists 

Here is how every one of us can contribute:

1. Schools and art institutions can integrate folk arts into curricula, making them accessible to young minds. 

2. Museums and cultural centres must go beyond static displays, bringing scrolls to life through interactive exhibits and live storytelling sessions. 

3. Filmmakers, writers, and digital creators can document these traditions, helping them reach new global audiences. 

4. Encouraging artisans to teach their craft, whether through workshops, residencies, or digital platforms, ensuring that the knowledge is passed down, not buried. 

5. And most importantly, by choosing to support, buy, and celebrate these handmade pieces, we keep the scrolls unrolling, the stories unfolding, and the tradition alive.

By choosing to preserve, promote, and participate in the art’s revival, we make sure that the scrolls keep unrolling, the stories keep being sung, and the tradition continues to evolve, not fade.

Source:

Modi gifts Odisha's artefacts to world leaders during recent tours: by Minati Singha for Times of India, Published on 20 June 2025

Pattachitra artists in Odisha’s Raghurajpur strive to keep 4th-century art alive: by Shoma Abhyankar for The Federal, Published on 29 June 2025

Raghurajpur: The Odisha village of patachitra painters: by Rangan Datta for The Telegraph, Published on 18 April 2022