The Kalighat painters hold credit for recording some of the most interesting phases of Kolkata, dating back to a thousand years. Though the art form died somewhere in the middle, a few dedicated ones are trying to record the contemporary times through their artistic endeavours
The origins of the Kalighat style of painting remain mostly obscure, though its demise has been well documented. Its downfall can be traced to the early part of the 20th century when cheap oleographs imitating them killed the hand-painted art form. It?s rather ironic then that the West, which brought about the fall of a once thriving industry, would be responsible for breathing a new lease of life to the style. The first major exhibition of the Kalighat paintings was held in 1999 in the US. At the turn of the 21st century, after suffering a quick downfall into the oblivion, the style started attracting a burst of attention. This was a rather recent phenomenon to recognise the art form for what it was?a brilliantly inventive aesthetic achievement.
When London?s Victoria & Albert Museum, which has the largest collection of Kalighat paintings in the world, decided to showcase its finest collections to Indians, it was only befitting that it began its tour in the city where the works were originally created, Kolkata. After travelling to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai and the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, it finally culminated at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi. With over 100 paintings from the mid-1800s, when patuas (artists) mostly painted deities to pats (paintings) of contemporary Kolkata, the exhibition offers a wide canvas of themes, motifs and the changing lifestyle of the city; it captures the zeitgeist of Kolkata.
Explains Rajeev Lochan, director, NGMA, ?The entire genre of Kalighat patuas represent the most contemporary times. They ingeniously invented a style that a common man could access, depending on the milieu of the people.? Lamenting on the fact that it has not been thoroughly researched and documented, he says that ?he is taking up the challenge to exhibit other works of this genre.?
Earlier, the function of the patuas would be the retelling of mythological narratives about Hindu gods and goddesses, from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, thereby creating a body of religious iconography. ?The paintings show how intelligent these artistes were, they understood the texts to bring to life these images and they managed to capture them in the most minimal fashion. I wish these patuas were treated like how we treat Raja Ravi Verma,? rues Lochan.
Remaining true to their style of incorporating the nuances around them, these religious pats never failed to incorporate contemporary sensibilities. For instance, the image of a moustached Shiva with Parvati or the Kalighat renditions of deities showed a profound impact of British colonial rule on the artistes: Goddesses with Victorian crowns adopt the pose of English women or the violin instead of the veena.
Rather than just painting the images of gods and goddesses, their paintings began to reflect the birth of urban life in 19th century Calcutta. The patuas began to lampoon the Kolkata ?babu?. The social changes brought about amongst Kolkata?s rising urban elite during their interaction with Western ideas and lifestyle had given birth to ?babu culture.? Two of the most used themes in Kalighat painting are the Bengali ?babus? and their hollow, decrepit culture, as well as the ?loose women? of the society. These ?babus? became the butt of social satires and were portrayed with ridicule in Kalighat paintings. The ?babu? and the ?bibi? symbolised for the patuas eroding of traditional Indian values. This satirical gaze at a changing society, altering lifestyles and industrial progress is the distinguishing characteristic of Kalighat paintings.
The best example of how the patuas commented on social issues through their paintings is a series of works that describes the 1873 Tarakeshwar affair in detail. The paintings document the scandal where a Bengali government servant decapitates his wife Elokeshi after she is found having an affair with the priest of Tarakeshwar temple. The husband, who had later surrendered before the police, was convicted by the British dispensation along with the priest. The bitterness enmeshed with the affair and the tragedy that followed is vividly depicted in the imaginary scenes.
The most contemporary of the patuas in existence is Kalam Patua, an artiste who has reinvigorated and reinvented Kalighat painting in his own way. His work can be deceptive, seemingly playful and charming. He has taken the conceptual aspects of Kalighat art and reinterpreted them, making the style vital and relevant. His painting Abhisarika is an example of the patuas? continued commentary on Kolkata?s society. As the caption which accompanies the painting says: ?It takes on the theme of secret lovers? trysts at night? Abhisarika meaning ?fearless?, would signify a heroine who braved the dangers of the night to meet her lover, personifying the theme of romantic love. The lady in this painting is clearly going see her lover, who is possibly concealed in the shadowy car in the background. Her mobile phone, while shedding light in the dark, also hints at the opportunities provided for modern illicit affairs through the medium of text messaging and private phone calls. The spying face at the window implies that no affair is kept secret for long and that someone always finds out.?
Lochan says, ?A work of art is not meant to be understood but to be experienced. If an artist attempts to do that in the most minimal fashion, he is most successful.? Continuing its tradition, these paintings still record the changes in lifestyles, values, and a new visual vocabulary which caters to the transient, urban populace. They are a legacy that unfolds our past while capturing our present.
The exhibition is on till May 25. As part of its outreach programme, the gallery is organising a lecture/slide presentation on Monday by Sumanta Banerjee on the topic ?Kalighat Paintings as a Form of Urban Folk Culture of 19th Century Calcutta.?