Meet Bhagyasri Sahoo, Odisha Student Keeping The Traditional Art Of Pattachitra Alive

What does an engineering masters student do when stuck in the coronavirus lockdown? Some study, others relax. Bhagyasri Sahoo is doing something vastly different. The 27-year-old has picked the paintbrush to keep alive the traditional Indian art form of Pattachitra.

Pattachitra is a historical style of painting, with origins in Odisha and West Bengal. It comprises religious folk and mythological art made on natural cloth scrolls - chitra (painting) on patta (cloth) - known for the intricacies in its drawing detail.

From stones to bottles to ply to even leaves, Sahoo is adding colour to everything she can lay her hands on at home in Rourkela. Her artwork on Instagram consistently features the Hindu deity Lord Jagannath, of whom Sahoo is an ardent follower, in various forms and incarnations.

See Bhagyasri Sahoo's artwork below:

Source: Bhagyasri Sahoo / Instagram

Her handiwork has attracted over 2000 Instagram users, who express awe at her painting skills and attention to minute designs on different surfaces.

National recognition came to her earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded her in his weekly Mann ki Baat broadcast in January 2021.

"Take the example of Bhagyashree Sahu of Rourkela, Odisha. An engineering student, she started learning Pattachitra painting in the last few months and mastered it. But do you know, where did she paint? En route to college, she collected these soft stones and cleaned them. Later, for two hours daily, she painted these stones in Pattachitra style," he said during his episode focused on the mainstream revival of India's traditional arts.

The painting base that, therefore, also features most on Sahoo's social media profiles is stones - round, flat, large, miniature, stones of all shapes and sizes.

Bhaygasri Sahoo: A Young Artist Bringing Folk Art To Life With Her Paintbrush

Sahoo, who now also puts her craft on sale and in envisioning workshops for people interested in learning the Pattachitra art, said her interest in painting goes as far back as childhood. Growing up, however, she chose to walk down the path of science since her peers were too.

But, as all born artists can testify, once the creative passion takes a seat inside you, it never leaves.

Similarly it was for Sahoo. While at college pursuing MTech, stray stones rekindled her interest in art and colour, prompting her to make time for traditional painting. Under the COVID-19 induced lockdown, she perfected her workmanship further to create more detailed motifs of Lord Jagannath. One piece of larger art takes anywhere between 6-8 hours, according to her.

How Bhagyasri Sahoo and a crop of other youth artists are striving to keep traditional folk art relevant

"I have been recognised because this craft stands out and even though there is a lot of competition, it gets noticed amongst others. If I was making something that is usually done, I may not have been noticed. But because it’s Pattachitra, it was recognised... It has its own essence that attracts more attention," she said signifying the relevance of Pattachitra, while talking to Indian Express. 

Her art has caught the eye of many devotees like herself especially ahead of the Rath Yatra, a prominent festival in Odisha for the worship of Lord Jagannath, which is due to begin in July this year.

Where we have previously seen people of older generations - like Padma Shri Dulari Devi for Mithila art or Lalita Devi for Madhubani paintings - focus energies on conserving historical traditional folk art, a host of youths too are now shouldering that responsibility.

Read about these young women who covered Bihar trains with splashes of native art and this teen trying to keep alive the lost tradition of storytelling.