The Ancient Art of Chitrakathi and Its Role in Oral Narratives

Indian tradition and culture have, for a very long time held two things very close to itself. The first one is its art and the second is its story telling. Not only do Indians hold these close to their hearts, these two forms have also been the means that have carried the culture and its traditions forward. When these two beautiful aspects come together, we are left with things that carve an even more beautiful imagery of Indian artforms. One example of their culmination can be seen in Maharashtra’s chitrakathi.

Chitrakathi combines visual art and storytelling in their peak glory. It has remained a visual storytelling tradition where a storyteller, or kathakara, uses illustrated scrolls to narrate mythological and historical tales. This is a beautiful art form that originated from a community with the same name.

History

The roots of Chitrakathi can be traced back several centuries, with its origins deeply embedded in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. While a lot of people knew about Warli art as an artform rooted in Maharashtra, chitrakathi paintings stayed little know for a very long time. Chitrakathi, was a custom of the Thakar community, which has long been used by storytellers to communicate myths, stories, and moral lessons to rural audiences that are primarily illiterate. This practice served as a tool for teaching and amusement in a very artistic way.

Chitra translates to a picture/ a painting and Kathi comes from the word katha meaning story. Hence the storytellers that used these paintings to tell a story were also called chitrakathis. They used to travel from village to village telling these stories to people. They carried a set of hand-painted illustrations on paper or cloth, known as pothis, which they used as visual aids while narrating stories. The topics and themes of these pothis were often episodes from Hindu epics, local folklore, or historical events. 

The Process 

To be able to create a chitrakathi painting, the prerequisites are patience and an understanding of the story that needs to be told.  The process begins with the selection of stories. These stories are carefully broken down into key episodes or scenes, which are then painted to help with the narrative flow making the final result all the more intriguing.

Materials

All of the materials utilized in Chitrakathi are natural. The painters themselves produce everything making the process even more detail oriented. It is a handmade paper or cloth that serves as the foundation for the paintings. When it comes to the pigments, the vivid colours that highlight the paintings are produced using natural pigments that are derived from minerals, plants, and other organic things that exist around the artists. For example, soot is the source of black, geru is the source of red, and turmeric or natural earth colours are the source of yellow. To guarantee endurance, these colours are combined with a natural adhesive, like gum Arabic.

Art style

The artists use brushes made from natural fibres, such as squirrel or goat hair, to achieve precision and control. The composition of Chitrakathi paintings is carefully planned to ensure clarity and visual appeal. Chitrakathi paintings are created using bold, simple lines and a limited colour palette. This simple approach emphasizes the dramatic and emotional essence of the story rather than intricate details. While Each painting successfully exists as an individual piece of art, when the series is put together it makes a lot more sense while seamlessly integrating into the larger story being told.

Performance

It is like one expects storytelling to be, it is dramatic with use of music as well. What makes it stand apart from everything else is how it integrates art within itself. The performer offers a selection of hand-painted pictures that highlight significant scenes from a selected story. One painting at a time, each representing a different section of the narrative, is displayed. By acting as visual cues, the paintings help the audience follow the story and better comprehend what happened.

Themes and motifs 

These works are dominated by divine characters from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Figures such as Rama, Sita, Krishna, and Hanuman are depicted very often, because they find themselves in the centre of this art forms intention. They are presented with special attributes such as crowns, halos, or special weapons to show their divine authority.

Animals and birds are also recurring in these paintings, Nature is often represented with stylized trees, rivers and mountains forming the background of the narrative, and the lotus often appears as a symbol of purity and innocence. Architectural elements such as palaces, temples, and gates, help to create important imagery of events in the story. The Borders include geometric patterns that also help to create and enhance visual attention to it.

Devotional stories featuring deities such as Krishna, Shiva, and Rama emphasize the importance of faith and Dharma. Folk tales and local legends also take up space in the themes of this art form because they are often specific to particular communities and preserve their history and culture. Moral lessons are also a recurring theme, focusing on the eternal struggle between good and evil, emphasizing virtues such as truth, courage, and compassion and fairness. While there are themes of divinity, some painting also talks of the normal mortal human life and its existence. 

In this manner, we understand that when art and storytelling came together, its power was utilised not only by spreading awareness about our folklore and mythology to people that often times had no means to understand them otherwise, but also by teaching values that our culture has always held close to its heart. The themes therefore only substantiated chitrakathi as an even more beautiful form of art. 

Conclusion

In recent years, a lot more attention has been paid to chitrakathi as an art originating in Maharashtra along with the Warli style. It is incredible to bear witness of the diversity that exists in India when it comes to art as well. Chitrakathi came to be an artform that seamlessly merged storytelling with visual artistry, creating a unique medium to convey epics, folklore, and moral teachings.