Artist : Bhaskar Chitrakar
Title : Babu getting crow 'blessings' Medium : Natural colours on paper
Size : 11" x 15"
Year : 2023
"Kalighat patas” are a class of paintings on paper produced by ‘patuas’ in the neighbourhood of the famous Kali Temple in Calcutta in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Popular themes included Hindu deities, satirical portrayals of Englishmen and 'babus', historical events and incidents of daily life.
In recent times, one artist belonging to a family of patuas, Bhaskar Chitrakar of Kalighat, is reviving this style. This painting, done in powder pigments on paper, is a contemporary Kalighat, using the old style of paint and brushwork, where the Babu is shown in traditional clothes, but the theme is a humorous one of him getting 'blessed' by a crow!