This week, National Award-winning artist Bijay Parida brings his work to Mumbai for the first time with a solo Pattachitra exhibition, The Dancing Line. The art form is rooted in the worship of Lord Jagannath, an avatar of Lord Vishnu in the temple of Puri. The paintings depict myth and folklore and have been illustrated on walls, palm leaves, playing cards and cloth.
Considered one of the masters of Pattachitra, Parida explores popular themes like the seasons ( Shada Ritu ) or avatars of Jagannath, the Dasavatara (10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu) and episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata . His paintings pay an ode to Oriya poetry, particularly Gita Govinda , a body of work composed by the 12th-century Indian poet, Jayadeva, who is a pivotal figure in Oriya culture. It explores the relationship between Krishna and the gopis (female cow herders) of Vrindavan and is integral to the Odissi classical dance.
Eschewing the use of chemicals, Parida is known for using natural colours in his works. For instance, his white pigment comes from from shankh or conch shells, while hingula (blood red) is obtained from crude cinnabar, kala (black) from lamp soot and blue is extracted from indigo. As part of the five-day showcase, Parida will also conduct a workshop on the Pattachitra art form on April 5.
This evening, dancer Daksha Mashruwala, an exponent of Odissi, will explain the intricacies of Pattachitra by drawing parallels between the art forms. “I will trace the history of Pattachitra and explore how these paintings were influenced by other arts and the diverse themes it touches upon,” says Mashruwala. “I will also emphasise how as a dancer it is important for us to connect the lines that we make in space. So, whatever we do with our bodies is like making meaningful images on stage that can be interpreted in multiple ways. We will have slide projections of the paintings [to demonstrate] how we have similar postures in our dance.”
The next session of The Dancing Line, which takes place on April 7, will focus on Gita Govinda , a relevant text for the Odissi repertoire. The work has influenced diverse art forms like painting, music and dance, as well as depicts the sacred and profane dimensions of love through the songs of Radha and Krishna.
Steeped in folklore: (Clockwise from left) Pattachitra paintings depict episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata ; dancer Daksha Mashruwala, who will connect the art to the Odissi dance form; and artist Bijay Parida at work.
Mashruwala will bring out the visual and philosophical beauty of the poetry seen in the Pattachitra paintings as well as Odissi dance with a performance. “I will use poetry, music, dance and painting to explore Gita Govinda,” says Mashruwala. “The essence of any art form is to evoke rasa , a kind of aesthetic pleasure in the viewer. I want to bring people closer to the art forms by making them understand the process behind them.”
The Dancing Line — Orissan Pattachitra by Bijay Parida with special focus on the Krishna-Lila at Artisans’, Kala Ghoda from April 4 to 8 .
