Paitkar, sometimes written as Pyatkar, refers to a scroll painting tradition that centres today on Amadubi village in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Chitrakar families, who work as hereditary painter‑storytellers, create the scrolls and perform them in a combined practice of image, song and narrative. Researchers link Paitkar to older pata or patua scroll practices in neighbouring Bengal and Odisha, which also combine visuals with itinerant oral performance.
Artists prepare long vertical scrolls from palm leaf, cloth, tree bark or handmade paper and apply natural pigments made from clay, soot, turmeric, plant leaves and lime. Bold contour lines, profiles with elongated eyes and flat areas of colour give the figures a strong graphic presence without linear perspective or shading. Painters arrange scenes in sequence so that each panel leads to the next, which allows performers to unroll the scroll gradually as they sing.
Traditional themes include episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, local myths, Santhal stories and scenes that address ideas of karma, death and the afterlife. Artists also portray village rituals, fairs and seasonal festivals and sometimes respond to state commissions that ask them to interpret contemporary social issues. Because many Santhal communities do not rely heavily on written records, the scrolls function as moving visual texts that preserve collective memory.
Today, only a small number of Chitrakar families continue Paitkar painting in Amadubi, and they often sell single‑panel works, postcards and small scrolls to tourists. Older practitioners speak about the decline of patronage for full performances as broadcast media replaces door‑to‑door storytelling.
Government agencies and museums present Paitkar as Jharkhand’s distinctive scroll tradition and support workshops, which helps maintain at least a modest livelihood for some artists.
Athmaja Biju is the Editor at Abir Pothi. She is a Translator and Writer working on Visual Culture.
