PINGLA (WEST MIDNAPORE): Their art, passed down from one generation to another, brings alive tales from Indian mythology on scrolls. But ahead of the assembly elections, the Chitrakars of West Midnapore’s Pingla are wielding their brush to paint a contemporary story — of protest at denial of their right to vote.Of the nearly 300 patachitra artists at Naya village in Pingla — who are predominantly Muslim and share the common surname of Chitrakar, meaning artist — the names of at least 34 have been struck off the voters’ list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. There are more females on the list than males, according to the villagers.Among the disenfranchised are family members of Swarno Chitrakar and Anwar Chitrakar, both of whom have received national awards, as well as artists who have ?been honoured by numerous cultural organisations.They were all voters of booth 183 of the Sabang assembly constituency.In response to the denial of their right, ‘patachitras’ (traditional long scrolls depicting stories) and ‘pater gan’ (songs that the artists sing while unfurling the scrolls) have taken a sharper and more topical turn, narrating the villagers’ SIR experiences.Patachitra, a perfect amalgamation of visual and aural storytelling, is one of Bengal’s earliest art forms famous for its use in the narration of mythological tales, folklore and stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Recognised by Unesco as an Intangible Cultural Heritage and subsequently awarded the GI tag, Patachitra of Naya has achieved global acclaim in recent times.Fuming at the SIR deletions, Rahim Chitrakar, treasurer of Chitrataru, a collective of patachitra artists, said, “At least 34 of the 300-odd artists in Naya have been excluded from the electoral roll, post-SIR.”Swarno Chitrakar’s brother, Sanuyar, 40, is no longer a voter despite submitting all relevant documents to EC personnel.
“I mapped myself to my father, whose name was on the 2002 voters’ list. We have a land deed more than 50 years old. The names of my brothers and sister are on the list, but mine is not. I was called for a hearing for logical discrepancy and submitted all the documents they asked for, including the land deed.
I requested them to take my passport, but they said there was no need for it. Later, I learnt my name had been deleted after judicial scrutiny,” said Sanuyar, who has appealed to a tribunal set up on Supreme Court’s order to get his right restored.Sanuyar and others are composing a ‘pater gan’ which pours out the anguish of having their voting right and citizenship questioned despite being natives of the land.Bahadur Chitrakar has painted eight frames to narrate the fate of the artists and the fear that has engulfed them.“My patachitras show that elections are like a festival, which has been smeared with sadness because of so many deletions. One of the frames likens voters’ lives to a kite string that can snap any moment,” said Bahadur.The family of Bahar Chitrakar, among the senior-most artists in Naya and among the artists from the village praised by President Droupadi Murmu for their work, has seen four deletions: daughter Anur, son-in-law Dilu and daughters-in-law Asma and Amena. “Like my six siblings, I mapped myself to my father, whose name was on the 2002 list. My name was not on the list published on Feb 28. My husband had mapped himself to his father and submitted his passport.
His name was deleted, too,” said Anur. Seramuddin Chitrakar, Bahar’s son, said, “My scroll depicting Ramayana scenes was praised by PM Narendra Modi. I don’t know why my wife’s name (Amena) was deleted.”Sirajuddulla Chitrakar, whose name is on the list, has drawn patachitras showing many of the deleted voters accompanying their parents to booths in their childhood.“Now, they are being asked to provide so many documents to prove that we, patuas, belong to this land. This is unjust. Through my art I have tried to depict that we are all Indians.”
