Seventy-seven-year-old Reba Pal is a ‘chalchitra’ artist. ‘Chalchitra’ is a part of Bengal ‘patachitra’
Photographs by Ramit Sarkar‘Chalchitra’ refers to the Debi ‘chal’ or Durga ‘chala’, the background of the Durga ‘pratima’ (idol). The main content of the ‘chalchitra’ are stories from the Puranas. It talks about Shiv-Parvati, Kali, Mahishasurmardini and Dashabatar among others
The septuagenarian artist is exceptionally skilled despite her advanced age and lives in Krishnanagar in Nadia district
The painting of the ‘chalchitra’ entails hours of strenuous work and involves good eyesight. She uses all natural colours to paint
Originally, ‘chalchitra’ was used to lend a proper proportion to the structure of the idol. This tradition is very ancient but is still in practice
Over the decades, Reba Pal has won several awards and accolades, including the Asian Paints Sharad Samman