Kalantarer Jatray Banglar Pat by Dipak Kumar Bara Panda [Hardcover]

The folk art of Bengal, which once emerged as a religiously influenced traditional art form, evolved under the light of colonialism to depict social life. Although the language of the pata (scroll painting) changed, the technique and line color style remained unchanged. The traditional form of indigenous art transformed into a modern genre of painting in the light of modernity. When this art form gained international recognition and found a place in the drawing rooms of modern human life, the lives of the patuas (traditional folk artists) also began to change. The pata painting, which was once deeply intertwined with the songs and social life of the community, has today, in many cases, become devoid of music, merely existing as a curiosity. Understanding of pata and patua was not limited to the conventional academic approach of folk culture studies. Rather, this book attempts to comprehend the intense changes in Bengal’s pata-patua tradition through an integrated effort to understand modernity's sociology, psychology, and culture.