Sohrai, Pattachitra, and Patua Paintings | 26 Jul 2025

Source: PIB 

Why in News? 

Artists from Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal participated in the 2nd edition of Kala Utsav 2025 – 'Artists in Residence Programme' at Rashtrapati Bhavan, showcasing traditional paintings like Sohrai Khovar, Pattachitra, and Patua. 

• The program honors India’s living art traditions while offering a platform for folk, tribal, and traditional artists to showcase their work. 

What are the Key Facts Regarding Sohrai, Pattachitra, and Patua Paintings? 

• Sohrai Painting: It is a traditional indigenous art form practiced by women from various tribal communities in the Hazaribagh region of Jharkhand, including the Kurmi, Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Agaria, and Ghatwal groups.  
  • Known as harvest art, it is deeply linked to agriculture and cattle domestication. The term 'Soh' or 'Soro' means to drive away, and 'Rai' refers to a stick.  
  • As part of the ritual, mandalas or aripan are drawn with rice gruel to welcome cattle into homes, a task performed by village women using their fingers. 
  • Sohrai Khovar Painting has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in the year 2020. 

• Patta Chitra: Originating in Odisha, it is closely associated with the Jagannath Temple in Puri, where it is traditionally used to decorate the sanctum sanctorum. 
  • Pattachitra, painted on cloth (Pata) coated with chalk powder and tamarind seed glue, uses natural colors from vegetable, earth, and mineral sources.  
  • Themes include religious, mythological, and folk stories, notably Krishna Leela and Lord Jagannath. 
  • Without pencils or charcoal, artists start with borders and sketch directly with light red and yellow brushes, finishing with a lacquer coating for shine and water resistance. 

• Patua Painting: It is a folk art tradition from West Bengal, practiced by the Patua or Chitrakar community (both Hindu and Muslim).  
  • Patua artisan community is also found in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and parts of Bangladesh. 
  • It is painted on cloth scrolls called pati or patta, backed with old sari fabric, using bamboo-goat hair brushes and vegetable dyes fixed with gum.  
  • It is used to narrate Mangal Katha, especially by Hindu Patuas in Kalighat and Kumartuli.