Paitkar Painting: The Scroll Art of Jharkhand

Paitkar painting, also written Paitkar or Paitkar scroll painting and sometimes grouped with the wider family of eastern Indian pata or scroll art, is traditionally regarded as one of the oldest tribal scroll-painting traditions of eastern India. It is closely associated with Amadubi village in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, where itinerant painter-bards of the Chitrakar community, popularly known as Jadupatua, paint long narrative scrolls and carry them from village to village. The painters unroll each scroll scene by scene while singing the story it depicts, drawing on themes such as epics, village life and traditional beliefs about the journey of the soul after death. The scrolls are made with natural and earth-based colours on paper or cloth. Once far more widespread, it survives today as an endangered folk art sustained by a handful of families and revival efforts, much like the tribal traditions explored in our guide to Saura painting, and this account keeps to broadly established history where particular dates and details are uncertain.

Key Takeaways

• Paitkar painting is a tribal narrative scroll-painting tradition of eastern India, centred on Amadubi village in East Singhbhum district, Jharkhand.
• It is practised by painter-bards of the Chitrakar community, popularly known as Jadupatua, who both paint the scrolls and sing their stories.
• The scrolls are painted in natural and earth-based colours on paper or cloth and unrolled scene by scene during performance.
• Common themes include episodes from epics, scenes of village and community life, and traditional beliefs about the journey of the soul after death.
• Paitkar is traditionally counted among the oldest tribal scroll-painting traditions of the region.
• It is today an endangered folk art, sustained by a small number of families and by cultural revival efforts.

Read on for the history, culture, and legacy in detail.

Quick Facts

What Is Paitkar Painting?

Paitkar painting is a traditional tribal scroll-painting art of eastern India in which painted narrative scrolls are combined with sung storytelling. In this tradition, an artist paints a sequence of scenes along a long vertical scroll, then performs the scroll by slowly unrolling it before an audience while singing the accompanying story. The art is closely associated with the Chitrakar community of painter-bards, popularly called Jadupatua, who are concentrated in and around Amadubi village in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Paitkar belongs to the wider family of South Asian pata or scroll traditions, in which painting and oral performance are joined together as a single living art form. The scrolls are made with natural, earth-based colours applied to paper or cloth. What distinguishes Paitkar is this fusion of folk painting, music and travelling performance, carried by the painter-bards from one village to another as both visual art and spoken-and-sung narration.

Where Did Paitkar Painting Originate?

Paitkar painting is centred on Amadubi village in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, in the Chotanagpur region of eastern India, which is widely regarded as the heartland of the tradition. The surrounding countryside, home to Adivasi and other rural communities, provided both the audiences and many of the themes for the painted scrolls. The tradition is part of the broader cultural landscape of eastern India, where several related scroll-painting and pata traditions have flourished among different communities. Jharkhand, with its strong tribal heritage, forms the regional setting in which Paitkar developed its distinctive character. The painter-bards traditionally travelled out from their home villages into the wider district and region, carrying their scrolls to rural audiences. While the precise origins of the art are not documented with certainty, its close identification with Amadubi and the East Singhbhum area is well established, and this village remains the recognised centre of the surviving tradition today.

Who Are the Jadupatua Painter-Bards?

The Jadupatua are the painter-bards of the Chitrakar community who create and perform Paitkar scrolls, serving at once as painters, singers and travelling storytellers. The term Chitrakar broadly denotes a community of traditional painters, while the popular name Jadupatua is associated with their role as narrators of painted scrolls. Within this tradition, a single artist typically learns both to paint the scrolls and to sing their stories, so that the visual and the oral arts are held together in one person. The painter-bards traditionally carried their rolled scrolls from village to village, performing before rural audiences in exchange for grain, money or other support. This itinerant role made them not only artists but also carriers of story, memory and belief across the countryside. The knowledge and repertoire were generally passed down within families, from one generation to the next, sustaining the Jadupatua as the custodians of the Paitkar tradition over time.

How Old Is the Paitkar Tradition?

Paitkar is traditionally described as one of the oldest tribal scroll-painting traditions of eastern India, though its precise age and early history are not documented with certainty. Scroll-painting and sung storytelling have deep roots across the region, and Paitkar is generally understood to belong to this ancient family of folk arts rather than to a single datable moment of invention. Because the tradition was carried orally and visually by travelling painter-bards rather than through written records, its beginnings are known mainly through community memory and the continuity of practice. It is therefore more accurate to speak of Paitkar as a long-established and broadly ancient tradition than to assign it a specific founding date. What is clear is that the art has been handed down across many generations within the Chitrakar families of the region. This long continuity, rather than any exact chronology, is the basis of its reputation as one of the oldest living scroll traditions of eastern India.

What Does the Word Paitkar Mean?

The word Paitkar is generally understood to relate to the painted scroll itself and to the practice of scroll painting, linking the art to the wider family of pata or pat traditions found across eastern India. In these traditions, a pata is a painted scroll or cloth that carries a sequence of narrative scenes, and the names of the various regional arts often derive from this root. Paitkar is thus commonly interpreted as the local name for this scroll-painting art as practised by the Chitrakar painter-bards of the Jharkhand region. Precise etymologies in folk traditions are frequently uncertain and may be explained in more than one way within the community itself, so the meaning is best treated as broadly established rather than fixed. What the name reliably conveys is the central place of the painted scroll in the tradition. The term therefore points directly to the defining object of the art: the long narrative scroll that is painted and then performed.

How Are Paitkar Scrolls Made?

Paitkar scrolls are made by hand, with the painter preparing a surface of paper or cloth and then building up a sequence of narrative scenes in natural, earth-based colours. The artist typically lays out the story as a series of framed or stacked panels running along the length of the scroll, so that it can be unrolled gradually to reveal one scene after another during performance. Outlines are drawn and then filled with colour, with figures, animals and settings rendered in the bold, flat and expressive style characteristic of folk scroll painting. The making of a scroll is a patient process that combines drawing, colouring and composition, guided by the conventions of the tradition and the story to be told. Brushes are traditionally simple, and the materials are drawn largely from local and natural sources. The finished scroll is both an object of visual art and a script for performance, designed to be read aloud and sung as it is slowly displayed.

What Natural Colours Are Used in Paitkar Painting?

Paitkar painting traditionally uses natural and earth-based colours derived from locally available materials such as coloured earths, minerals, plants and other organic sources. In keeping with many folk and tribal painting traditions of India, the painters historically prepared their own pigments rather than relying on manufactured paints, grinding and mixing natural materials to obtain the hues they needed. These colours give the scrolls their characteristic warm, earthy and muted palette, well suited to the bold, flat figures of the tradition. The use of natural colours ties the art closely to its rural setting and to the resourcefulness of the painter-bards, who worked with what the surrounding environment provided. While practices have varied over time and some artists may now use more readily available materials, the association of Paitkar with natural, earth-derived pigments remains central to its identity. This reliance on local, natural colour is one of the features that links Paitkar to the wider world of tribal and folk painting in India.

What Themes Do Paitkar Scrolls Depict?

Paitkar scrolls depict a range of narrative themes, including episodes drawn from epics and religious story, scenes of everyday village and community life, and traditional beliefs about the journey of the soul after death. The painter-bards drew on the shared stories, faith and folklore of the rural and tribal communities among whom they travelled, so that the scrolls reflected the world and worldview of their audiences. Some scrolls illustrate well-known mythological and epic narratives, while others portray local legends, social scenes or moral tales. A particularly notable group of scrolls deals with beliefs about what happens to the soul after death, a theme for which the tradition is especially remembered. Through these varied subjects, the scrolls served as a form of visual and oral storytelling that entertained, instructed and expressed the beliefs of the community. The range of themes shows how Paitkar functioned as a living record of the stories, values and spiritual ideas of the region.

How Is a Paitkar Scroll Performed?

A Paitkar scroll is performed by the painter-bard, who unrolls it slowly before an audience while singing or reciting the story that the painted scenes depict. Rather than being hung as a static picture, the scroll is designed to be revealed gradually, one scene at a time, so that image and narration unfold together. As each panel comes into view, the performer sings the corresponding episode, guiding the audience through the story from beginning to end. This performance tradition made the painter-bards travelling entertainers and storytellers as much as visual artists, carrying their scrolls from village to village and performing in rural settings. The sung narration brought the painted scenes to life and allowed the same scroll to be shared with many different audiences over time. The joining of painting, music and live performance is the defining feature of Paitkar, setting it apart from traditions in which the painted image stands alone. In this way the scroll becomes a script for a shared act of storytelling.

What Do the Soul-Journey Scrolls Depict?

Among the most distinctive Paitkar scrolls are those that depict traditional beliefs about the journey of the soul after death, a theme for which the tradition is particularly remembered. These scrolls illustrate ideas, drawn from the folk and religious beliefs of the region, about what is thought to happen to a person after they die and how the soul is understood to travel or be judged. Through painted scenes and accompanying narration, the painter-bards gave visible and audible form to beliefs that are otherwise unseen, helping their audiences reflect on death, the afterlife and the moral order. Because these beliefs vary within and between communities, such scrolls are best understood as expressions of traditional folk belief rather than as fixed doctrine, and they are treated here with respect and without asserting any claim as fact. The soul-journey scrolls show how Paitkar served not only as entertainment but also as a vehicle for the spiritual imagination of the communities it served.

How Does Paitkar Relate to Other Scroll Traditions?

Paitkar belongs to the wider family of scroll-painting and pata traditions found across eastern India, in which painted scrolls are combined with sung or spoken storytelling by travelling painter-bards. Several communities in the region have developed related arts in which a long painted scroll is unrolled scene by scene while its story is performed aloud, and Paitkar shares this essential structure. At the same time, Paitkar has its own distinctive character, rooted in the Chitrakar community of the Jharkhand region, its particular themes and its local style and colours. Comparing Paitkar with other scroll traditions highlights both the shared heritage of painted-and-performed storytelling in eastern India and the local identity that each tradition preserves. This family resemblance also connects Paitkar to the broader world of Indian folk and tribal painting. Understanding Paitkar within this larger context helps explain both its roots and the features that make it a recognisable tradition in its own right.

What Role Does Amadubi Village Play?

Amadubi village, in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, is widely recognised as the heartland and surviving centre of the Paitkar tradition. It is here that families of the Chitrakar painter-bards have long been concentrated, and the village is closely identified with the continuity of the art. As the number of practising painters has declined, Amadubi has taken on added importance as the place where the tradition is still maintained and from which revival efforts have been organised. The village has come to be associated with cultural tourism and craft promotion aimed at supporting the surviving artists and introducing visitors to the scroll-painting tradition. In this way Amadubi serves both as the historic home of the art and as a focus for present-day efforts to keep it alive. Its identity as a painting village gives it a special place in the cultural map of Jharkhand. The fortunes of Amadubi and of Paitkar painting are therefore closely bound together.

Why Is Paitkar Painting Endangered?

Paitkar painting is widely described as an endangered folk art because the number of families still practising it has fallen sharply and the traditional conditions that once sustained it have weakened. The itinerant performance that was central to the tradition depended on rural audiences who supported the painter-bards, and changes in rural life, entertainment and economy have reduced this support over time. As younger generations have often turned to other livelihoods, the transmission of the art within families has become more fragile. With only a limited number of artists continuing the tradition, the specialised knowledge of painting, pigments and performance is at risk of being lost. These pressures are common to many traditional folk and tribal arts across India, which struggle to compete with modern media and alternative sources of income. The endangered status of Paitkar reflects this wider challenge. Recognising the art as endangered has, however, also spurred efforts to document, support and revive it before the knowledge disappears.

What Efforts Support the Revival of Paitkar Painting?

Efforts to support and revive Paitkar painting have focused on sustaining the remaining artists, promoting the tradition to new audiences and opening up fresh sources of income. These efforts have included the promotion of Amadubi as a centre for cultural tourism, where visitors can meet the painter-bards and learn about the scroll tradition, as well as workshops, exhibitions and craft-development initiatives. Artists have also adapted the tradition by creating smaller framed paintings, cards and other items alongside the traditional scrolls, making the art more marketable while keeping its visual language alive. Support from cultural and craft organisations, along with growing interest in India’s endangered folk arts, has helped draw attention to Paitkar. Such measures aim not only to provide livelihoods but also to encourage younger people to learn the art and carry it forward. While challenges remain, these revival efforts represent a serious attempt to ensure that one of eastern India’s oldest scroll traditions is not lost.

Why Is Paitkar Painting Culturally Significant?

Paitkar painting is culturally significant as a living example of the ancient tradition of painted-and-performed storytelling in eastern India, and as a distinctive expression of the heritage of the Jharkhand region. The art preserves a rare union of folk painting, music and travelling performance, in which a single painter-bard both creates the images and gives voice to their stories. Its scrolls carry the epics, legends, social scenes and spiritual beliefs of the communities among whom the painters moved, making the tradition a repository of regional memory, faith and imagination. As one of the oldest tribal scroll-painting traditions of the region, Paitkar also holds an important place in the wider story of Indian folk and tribal art. Its survival matters both as a cultural heritage in its own right and as a link to older ways of sharing story and belief. The significance of Paitkar lies in this rich combination of artistry, performance and living tradition.

Paitkar Painting Today

Paitkar painting today survives as an endangered but still living folk art, centred on Amadubi village in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, where a small number of Chitrakar families continue the tradition. The art is now sustained less by the old itinerant performances than by cultural tourism, exhibitions, workshops and the sale of scrolls and smaller works to visitors and collectors interested in India’s folk and tribal heritage. Amadubi has become a recognised destination for those who wish to encounter the scroll-painting tradition at its source and to support the surviving painter-bards. Efforts to document the art, train younger artists and widen its market continue, reflecting a broader concern to preserve endangered traditional arts. For readers of Indian culture, Paitkar offers a vivid example of how painting, music and storytelling were once joined in a single travelling art. Its future depends on these ongoing efforts, but its legacy as one of eastern India’s oldest scroll traditions endures.

Sources & Further Reading

• Ministry of Culture, Government of India (indiaculture.gov.in).
• Ministry of Textiles, Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) (handicrafts.nic.in).
• Department of Tourism, Government of Jharkhand (tourism.jharkhand.gov.in).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Paitkar painting?

Paitkar painting is a traditional tribal scroll-painting art of eastern India in which painter-bards paint long narrative scrolls and sing their stories aloud while unrolling them. Centred on Amadubi village in Jharkhand, it combines folk painting, music and travelling performance, using natural earth colours on paper or cloth.

Where is Paitkar painting from?

Paitkar painting is centred on Amadubi village in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, in eastern India, which is regarded as the heartland of the tradition. The painter-bards traditionally travelled out from such villages into the surrounding region, performing their painted scrolls before rural audiences.

Who makes Paitkar scrolls?

Paitkar scrolls are made by painter-bards of the Chitrakar community, popularly known as Jadupatua. A single artist typically both paints the scroll and sings its story, serving at once as painter, singer and travelling storyteller. The tradition has generally been passed down within families across generations.

What are Paitkar scrolls about?

Paitkar scrolls depict episodes from epics and religious story, scenes of village and community life, and traditional beliefs about the journey of the soul after death. The themes reflect the shared stories, faith and folklore of the rural and tribal communities among whom the painter-bards travelled and performed.

Why is Paitkar painting endangered?

Paitkar painting is endangered because very few families still practise it and the rural performance that once sustained it has declined. As younger generations have turned to other livelihoods, transmission of the art has weakened, placing its specialised knowledge of painting, pigments and performance at risk of being lost.

How is Paitkar painting being revived?

Paitkar painting is being revived through cultural tourism at Amadubi, workshops, exhibitions and craft-development initiatives, along with the creation of smaller framed works and cards for sale. Support from cultural organisations and growing interest in India’s endangered folk arts have helped draw attention to the tradition.