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Patuas
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1999
and Patna Art in Bengal
David J. McCutchion
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Suhrid K. Bhowmik
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PATtiAS AND PATUA ART IN BENGAL
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I
PATUAS AND PATUA
·ART IN BENGAL
by
DAVID J. Mc CHION
and
SUHRID K. BHOWMIK
Introduction by
JILL PARVIN
,,.
•
FIRMA KLMPRIVATB LTD,
Calcutta-12 • • 1999
•
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Published by : PIRMA KLM PRIVATE LTO.
257-B. B.B. Oanguly Street, Calcutta-700 012, India
Printed and prepared by : Marang Buru Preu,
Mccheda-721137. Midnaporo, India
Cover : The Saraswati Printing Works. cat.-6
Copyright: Marang Buru Press, 1999
I SB N 81-7102-061-5
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Ideas for this book began in tht •s ixtie9
when David McCutchion, in the process of
searching for temples in a number of Bengal
districts which included Hoogh1y, Bankura,
Burdwan and Midnapore, came to Radha
nagar Raja Rammohun Roy Collese in the
Hooghly District of Bengal. In 1966 he gavo
a lecture on the temp1ts in the locality which
proclaimed his especial interest in the inter•
pretation of a ·particular terracotta plaque
denoting a battle between Rama and
Ravana. Many of those in the aud:tnce of
some thousand students and other interested
,
per6ons, commented on the similarities in the
style of the artist responsible with that of
local scroll painters (patua).
Suhrid Bhowmik who was teaching at the
College gave David McCutchion a Ramayana
scroll, collected in his own village of
Amdabad, and before long the two men were
meeting regularly to exchange notes on.
and visit, the scroll painters, despite long and
arduous journeys on foot or by cycle along
narrow paths by the side of canals or through
the rice fields of Bengal. McCutchion's
major work on temples was often side-tracked
by this search for the patuas whose numbers
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were dwindti~g rapidly as a result of thl
increased popu1arity of cinema and later TV,
as well as a changing economy after WW2.
1968
In the two researchers interviewed many
patuas in Amdabad and McCutchion realised
that this art form which had previously
depended on audiences of villagers who
listened to perfo rman~s and paid with rice,
could not continue into the latter part of th•
century unless the patuas were financially
secure. The correspondance included in
Appendix illustrates the careful considera-'
tion of the problems inv .:>lved in ·saving' the
work of the patuas.
r
Perhaps their work could be sold This
of course inevitably changed the attitude o(
the artist towards his work, meant that he,
had to regard himself a~ a p~inter rather than
an itinerant story-teller and that he had to
increase his output So another difficulty
arose. that of sustaining the quality of th1
paintings and even if the quality could be
sustained what of the song itself, 1ne"tricably·
interwoven with tl.e ··painted story and accus ..
tomed to be sung when ever the scroll was
undone. A book of songs was discus~ed
with translations into English and illustrations
from the scrolls. (cf. letter I p.-162] Despite
McC ut chion ·s self-evident enthusiasm for the
project [Letter 2 p.•164j it is only now, more
( ii )
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twenty fi\>e ytars \atet. that \he very
pubJisher who was· considered tlien, Firrna
KLM
[Firma Mukhopadhay ), is supporting
\his present pub liaction.
A first step in the original plan was to
stage an e~hibition of old scrolls which meant
tireless work finding good example:; · which
illustrated the variety of the patuas art.
['Cf. lettcr 3 p.-167JA common friend -of the two
men, Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal, through th•
Institution of Ba,1giya Sahitya Parishad, as
well as Tara Pada Santra, founder of Ananda
~iketan Museum, Howrah, were of invaluable
help once tho e:;sential ground work had been
done for _ an exhibition which was a huge
Lcf.
success and commented on widely. letter~
p.-168J M.:Cutchion's interest in the patuas
i11creased and with a London· friend he set
about organising the sale of scrolls abroad
(cf. letters 5 and 6 p.-169J) · while he and
Bhowmik, sometimes together and sometimes
alone, tirelessly collected from villages far
and wide.
..
In March 1970 t~y toured Midnapore to
scr~lls until an unfortunate accident
fi ,1j
occurred. Suhrid Bhowmik on a journey
alone a p;1tu.1 village came off his cycle as
t~
he went over a narro~ bridge and severely
damaged his wri~t. They were now running
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out of time. other commitnterits had to be ·
honoured, so they reluctantly parted without
completing their work. On 21st of April
David wrote to Suhrid saying that there was
no reply from London. Ill health; difficul•
ties in communi~tion and the bad economics
of purchasing scrolls without s11pport, wero
dogging their joint plan and then Uavid fell
•
seriously ill with a fever and. to the dismay
of all bis friends and · colleaaues. suddenly
died.
It was with deeply felt shock that every
one took in the news. The esteem and afftc
tion in which he was held has already Leen
. .
documented in a number of books. Critic
and painter, S.K. Ray, Satyajit Ray, Marso
.
.
Tennyson were among those at the time who
expressed deep personal feelings at his death,
feelings in which bis friend and collaborator
shared, together with many others, both in
India and the UK.. For Bhowmik was a
1t
more than serious blow. rfhe collaboration
had become very important to him which
was acknowledged in a bequest by Mc•
Cutchion who left him his tape recorder so
that their work could continue. Translations
not then completed have now been added to
the collection for this book though it is to
Suhrid Bhowmik's eternal regret that he had
to continue alone.
( iv )
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Nothing ever quite replaced that eager
collaboration taken up in the sixties in which
they exchanged language and .shared ·deep
~
.
. .
common interest. Bhowmik pays tribute to
McCutchion's ever sympathetic appreciation
of the Bengal he himself loves so much. For
most people who met him there was a feeling
that this was ·no mere academic. this was
someone in vital· contact with life. · Just
before his death he wrote from England
about the genocide going on in what was then
East Pakistan, now Bangladesh [ cf. letter
p. 171]. His interest in collecting examples of
the Sahib Pat [Engrejer pat] which depicts the
oppressive behaviour of the British in the
days of the Raj is a further indication of this
need to be at the heart of things.
For Suhrid Bhowmik brought up in
wildly divided times it was difficult to accept
the idea of an Englishman as teacher or
friend. That David McCutchion was accep
ted by him and all who knew him in India
as an exceptional man, both in his personal
and working life, gives a reason why this
book should now at last be printed. It is
important to note that they originally inten
ded to publish the songc; both in Bengali and
English whereas this book contains only the
English versions. This is not a fully funded
•
( V )
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