Project Pattrang, an attempt to revive the precious traditional art form

We, at Enactus, St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata, are part of a global devout student fraternity, called Enactus, that capitalizes on social entrepreneurship as instrumental for invigorating the potential prowess across the forsaken segments of the society. We aim to uplift communities, empower them and make them financially independent so that they can create an identity for themselves.

 Our recently launched venture, Project Pattrang, is an attempt to revive the precious traditional art form, Pattachitra, which is a 2000-year-old unique folk tradition of visual storytelling accompanied by songs performed by the Patuas. The Patuas are an artisan community, found mainly in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. They have been earning their livelihood by narrating stories from Hindu mythology, local folklore, and contemporary themes, through their paintings, which are made using naturally extracted colours. However, with the progression of time, the unique folk art form, Pattachitra is losing its grandeur in the cutting-edge world.

Project Pattrang intends to uplift the lives of skilled artists by forming a slick supply chain by eliminating middlemen and providing Chitrakars access to organized markets.

Our mission is to rejuvenate this dying culture by providing sustained demand to Chitrakars by tapping new sales avenues for them and promoting their products and paintings by spreading awareness about the art form in an attempt to popularize it in the mainstream market. While retaining the essential features of Pattachitra, we have worked on new product designs and created a wide range of products. These include products involving simple artwork on plates; coasters and kettles; elaborate wall paintings on 10 - 15 feet long canvases; fans; trays; glasses; dupatta; saari; bags; and scrolls.

We have been working on Project Pattrang with enthusiasm sheerly out of a driving spirit to help out financially backward artisans. Initially, we started off with just 3 artisans, and now there are 15, their previous income of Rs.4,000 has increased to Rs.7,000 now. We would appreciate your support in sustaining this endeavour, it will help us immensely in continuing our work, furthermore improving our image and securing collaborations with various organizations and beneficiaries with greater ease.