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Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the socio-economic conditions, welfare schemes, and occupational structure among pattachitra artisans in Puri district, Odisha (Eastern India). This study also tries to identify several barriers in the contemporary scenario, which hinders the sustainability of craft by limiting artisan’s livelihood. The field survey assisted in representing both the quantitative and qualitative results. With the use of purposive sampling, the sample size is 112 respondents (n) out of 350 total population (N). The application of inconsistency test, attribution theory, and correlation assisted in data analysis. The results indicate that low capital base, less decision-making power in the hands of women artisans, interference of machine products, and the problem of intermediaries block the development of this traditional craft in the current era. This study will be helpful for policymakers to understand the barriers encountered by traditional artisans. It provides suggestions concerning subsidy on raw materials, establishing fair price wholesale shops, giving financial support to build showrooms, initiating hassle-free promotional activities, and others to generate a sound and sustainable livelihood for the artisans. The uniqueness of this study lies in its qualitative findings that are unknown, and it is necessary to bring it to the forefront.
Acknowledgments
We extend our thankfulness to all the respondents for providing their relevant responses and time for the present study.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
No funding agency has supported this research work.
Notes
1 ‘Patta’ refers to the base (mainly cloth or palm–leaf; presently it is wood, dress, bottle and so on), or any material that is suitable for drawing designs and second is ‘Chitra’ which denotes any graphic representation; on completion, the craft is known as ‘Pattachitra.’
2 Chitralakshana is the treatise of painting that defines the measurement, components, canvas, and colors.
2 An auspicious bathing ceremony of Triad (Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra) and here pattachitra identifies the temple ethnicity. In the event, the three divine deities take a holy bath. The historical story narrates that the triads fall sick for 15 days known as ‘Anasara’ and they live in quarantine inside a hut known as ‘Anasara Ghara’.
4 The three triads after falling sick cause a temporary absence from their sanctum out of public view. For this tradition, the temple’s priest known as ‘Pandas’ call upon chitrakaras to draw the reflection of the deities on the walls so the public can pay obeisance, and that painting is ‘Anasara Patti’.
5 The patta painters in Odisha are locally called ‘Chitrakaras’ and mostly belong to the Raghurajpur village of Puri district, Odisha. The houses of artists aligned on the streets are ‘Chitrakara Saahi’.
6 Traditional paintbrush made by crushing the roots of the screw pine, and hair of rat is known as Kia Kathi or Tuli.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Pallavi Kanungo
Ms. Kanungo is PhD Research Scholar in Sociology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Odisha, India. Presently, she is also working as a Research Assistant under the Indian Council of Social Science Research, India (ICSSR) in one of her supervisor’s project entitled Tribal Education.
Narayan Sethi
Dr. Sethi is currently working as the Associate Professor in Economics, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela; Odisha. His publications include four books and 20 research papers in international journals such as Energy Policy, Utilities Policy, Economic analysis and policy, International Journal of Social Economics and Transnational Corporation Review etc.
Pritam Biswal
Mr. Biswal is PhD Research Scholar in Sociology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Odisha; India. He is the doctoral fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He has the total authority over pattachitra pictures collected during the fieldwork for preparing this manuscript.