Art, in various manifestations, is an integral part of the many festivals and rituals of Odisha. Pattachitra, for example, is used in the service of many deities. The Mohapatra family of Gadasahi in Athagarh, which has dedicated itself to keeping alive this art tradition, has been creating pattachitra works, paper masks, murals and wooden idols for generations. All these artworks are directly or indirectly used in the service of Lord Jagannath. Sunday POST met some of the members of this artistic family to learn more.
Rabi Narayan Mohapatra, the head of the Mohapatra family, is a master craftsman who has been honoured with the National Merit Award as well as State Merit Award. When this reporter met him, the 79-year-old artist was busy etching wooden idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra at the Jagannath temple of Ankula, near Athagarh. Some of his family members, who are also artists, were at hand to help him. All of them were working hard to complete the job ahead of Rath Yatra.
Mohapatra said, “The rulers of former times were great patrons of traditional art. A Gajapati King of Puri set up a colony of 18 artist families in 18 Garhjats of then Odisha and my forefathers were based in Athagarh. My grandfather, Sadananda Mohapatra, created different art works. My father, Sudarshan Mohapatra, and uncle, Bula Mohapatra, too were engaged in the field of traditional art and now our family is keeping alive the ethnic art tradition in the Athagarh region. We create art works which are used in the service of Lord Jagannath. We prepare pattachitra, paper masks, and murals and construct idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. In pattachitra, we make Anasara Patti, Khudurkuni Patti and Mangala Patti to be used in the festivals, including the Rath Yatra. We provide artistic service to the temples of Depada in Dhenkanal district and Bentapada, Kulailo and Ankula in Cuttack district.”
Rabi’s wife, Sanjukta Mohapatra, also hails from an artist family. Her father, the late Ananta Maharana, was a ‘shilpaguru’ awardee and an artist par excellence. Sanjukta is an artist too and creates different pattachitra works.
Bijay Mohapatra, Rabi’s eldest son who is carrying forward the family tradition, is a recognized pattachitra artist. He creates the Anasara Patti of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra worshipped in Srimandir, Puri during ‘anasara.’ He has painted the backdrop for the Rukuna Ratha drawn in honour of Lord Lingaraj, the God of Bhubaneswar. He has also had the honour of making the ‘patitapabana’ idol of Lord Lingaraj. Premises painting
Bijay received training in pattachitra and other art forms from his maternal grandfather, Ananta Maharana. As a child, he created exquisite ‘chitras’ (paintings). Due to the financial difficulties of his family, he had to leave school after Class VIII and later took up the family’s traditional artistic occupation. He moved to his native place Athagarh and dedicated himself to art. Local residents say that Bijay has played a key role in popularizing pattachitra in Athagarh. These days, a few students are learning pattachitra from him.
A National Merit Award winner, Bijay’s works have been exhibited in many well-known galleries. His pattachitra painting on Ramayana was exhibited at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal, one of the biggest museums in India. In 2008 and 2009, his pattachitras were displayed at the Barabati Nrutya Ustav in Cuttack. Most recently, his work was displayed at an art exhibition at the Sri Sri University. Among the awards that Bijay has received is the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award by the Rajiv Gandhi Forum. His artwork has found a place in a children’s book “Srujamyham” published in four languages by Pacad Comics, Bhubaneswar.
In 2012, Bijay attended a Master Craftsman Programme at Centre Norte, Sao Paulo in Brazil. Besides, he has participated in many state and national level art events, including the seven-day craft demonstration programme on Mask Making Craft held at Chamaguri, Majuli, Assam in March 2018; the Tribal, Folk and Traditional Camp, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre, Bhubaneswar at Upendra Moharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan, Patna in November 2017; the Crafts Demonstration Programme at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi; and the Craft Bazaar held in Amritsar, Punjab by the Ministry of Weaving and Crafts, Government of India.
Bijay’s younger brothers, Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra and Jyoti Prakash Mohapatra, sister Saraswati and sister Soumyashree are also skilled artists who are helping the family in creating artworks for use in the Lord’s service.
Himanshu Guru, OP