Laltu and Tagar Chitrakar, Pattachitra artists from Medinipur in Bengal, are the eighth generation of a family that continues the tradition of Patua art, traditionally created as long scrolls they sang out as they traveled through villages. They have adapted the scrolls to modern living where they can be done to size and colour, but continue to paint narratives - from mythology, village life and events, to issues related to the environment and politics. The art is created on paper backed with cloth cut from old saris. Laltu and Tagar’s neutral coloured paintings render traditional Patua in a stunning and contemporary form. They are skilled in the Kalighat style native to Bengal, through which they depict gods and goddesses as well as everyday situations, often in a light-hearted vein.
