Fabric of divinity

As A boy growing up in Puri, artist Bijay Kumar Parida has vivid recollections of mooning over the exquisite Patachitra paintings that adorned the inner sanctum of the temple Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra. "Every year my father would carry me on his shoulders to witness the famous rath yatra and I'd be overwhelmed by the experience. The tales of heroes and demons, of love and longing from the mythological epics that the pattachitras embodied came alive for me. I knew right then that I wanted to be an artist," he tells us over the phone from Orissa.

Today, Parida is one of the masters of pattachitra from Orissa. Excelling in both pattachitra and palm leaf engraving, he learnt the art from his mentor Gokul Bihari Pattnaik. "At 15, I began training at the centre for handicrafts set up by the government in Puri, but after two years left home to stay with my guru in Bhubaneshwar and train under him," he says. The artist, who has won two National Awards, will exhibit his solo show, the Dancing Line at ARTISANS' this week. The artworks explore popular themes found in pattachitras - the many seasons (shada ritu) or avatars of Jagannath, the dasavatra (ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) and episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

"Although I use colours extensively, in this collection, I have stuck to the use of black and brown. I felt this was more stark and intense." Parida concocts the organic colours from minerals and natural materials. The white pigment is obtained from conch shells, hingula (blood red) from crude cinnabar, Geru (red ochre) from the Geru stone and Kala (black) from lamp soot.

Among the many themes, the prominent one is that of Krishna Leela which tells stories about his birth, youth, his pranks and his role as the protector of the Brindavan folk. Over the years, Parida has trained several young artists in Pattachitra. "I'm still learning. I ask for inputs and seek feedback from non-artists as well. How am I to be relevant, if I don't evolve?" he asks.