Pyatkar paintings will now find a place in bureaucrats’ homes.

To promote indigenous artists and help them earn some more, the East Singhbhum district administration has procured 50 hand-painted table calendars from well- known Amadubi-based pyatkar artist Bijoy Chitrakar.

The calendars will be distributed as New Year token among officials.

This initiative by East Singhbhum District Tourism Promotion Council, headed by deputy commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla, is the first of its kind.

About 20 large hand-painted calendars were also gifted to the officials of Election Commission of India when they had visited the state during the Assembly polls.

“The purpose is to popularise pyatkar art, which is native to Amadubi village in Dhalbhumgarh block of East Singhbhum,” DC Shukla said.

Chitrakar, who is one of the few full-time professional pyatkar artists in Amadubi, said initiatives like this would help them get established as artists.

“Like other forms of art, pyatkar is entirely dependent on an idea. It takes a lot of effort to think and express that idea. Usually we depict mythological stories, folklores and village life. The initiative by the district administration has given me the much needed motivation. I feel lucky to have got this opportunity,” Chitrakar said.

The calendars have six paintings each and all of them are different from each other. Chitrakar has used natural dyes made of leaves and turmeric.

Tribal art workshop

A five-day tribal painting workshop by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) kicked off at Amadubi Rural Tourism Centre in Dhalbhumgarh on Monday. About 15 artists of pyatkar, sohrai and other tribal art forms will take part.