Authentic Making Process
The authentic creation of a traditional Paitkar narrative scroll is an intensive hand-craft discipline reliant entirely on native forest botany, mineral chemistry, and handloom textiles:
1. Scroll Base Preparation & Cloth Backing (Pata Nirman):
The artist prepares a continuous scroll, traditionally measuring between 5 to 15 feet in length and 1 to 2 feet in width. Sheets of heavy acid-free handmade paper or mill paper are joined end-to-end. To ensure structural resilience during frequent rolling and unrolling, the entire reverse side of the paper scroll is reinforced with vintage handloom cotton cloth, pasted smoothly using cooked starch prepared from boiled tamarind seeds (Teten Biye) and arrowroot.
2. Forest Foraging for Mineral & Botanical Pigments:
Paitkar painters never employ commercial chemical colors. Colors are meticulously extracted from seasonal forest flora and soil minerals:
- Geru (Red Ochre): Sourced from soft red laterite rocks mined in nearby river cuttings.
- Haritaki & Wild Turmeric: Boiled to yield luminous warm yellow and golden ochre shades.
- Palash Flowers: Sun-dried and soaked in water to yield warm saffron and orange hues.
- Green Bean Leaves & Wild Grass: Crushed fresh in stone mortars to extract verdant olive and forest greens.
- Burnt Coconut Shells & Lampblack (Kajal): Collected over earthen oil lamps fed with mustard oil, yielding dense, velvety carbon black for linework.
- Dudhi Matti (Kaolin): Used sparingly for pure white highlights.
3. Natural Binder Formulation (Babool & Bel Resin):
Powdered pigments are thoroughly ground on a granite pestle with pure rain water. Natural gum resin harvested from wild Babool (Acacia nilotica) trees or boiled Bel fruit (wood apple) pulp is blended into each color pot. The resin provides permanent water-resistant binding, preventing pigments from flaking when the scroll is tightly rolled.
4. Handcrafting Specialized Brushes (Kalam):
Master Chitrakars fashion their own painting brushes using fine tufts of goat hair, squirrel tail fur, or mongoose hair. The hair clusters are tied with fine waxed silk thread and inserted into slender hollow bamboo reeds or porcupine quills, producing ultra-responsive tips capable of both razor-sharp contours and broad wash fills.
5. Sequential Narrative Composition (Rekha-Chitran):
Without tracing paper or mechanical aids, the master artist sketches the composition directly onto the scroll using a very light reddish-brown wash. The scroll is divided into sequential visual panels separated by decorative geometric borders, carefully pacing the visual narrative to correspond with oral ballads.
6. Layered Polychromatic Painting:
Figures and backgrounds are filled with flat, opaque gouache washes using natural mineral colors. Lighter tones are applied first, followed by deeper earth tones. Shading is deliberately minimal, relying on flat color blocking to emphasize dramatic graphic silhouettes.
7. Final Inscription, Polishing & Roller Mounting:
Once colors have set, the painter executes razor-sharp contour outlines in deep lampblack (Kajal), delineating facial features, jewelry, and weaponry. The completed scroll is burnished gently on its reverse with a smooth sea conch shell (Shankh) to impart a soft satin luster. Finally, split bamboo rods (Dandi) are sewn to the top and bottom edges with cotton thread to allow smooth rolling and hanging.
