Keeping tradition alive

National award winner Pattachitra artiste Akshay Kumar Bariki from Raghurajpur village in Odisha, was in Hyderabad to participate in ‘Kausalyam 2026’ organised by the Crafts Council of Telangana.

Akshay has learnt Pattachitra style of painting from his father Brajkishore Bariki. He recalls being the seventh generation in his family to have taken up this art form and can only recall the name of his great grandfather Artatrana Bariki in the lineage of family artists.

His family members are into Pattachitra. Akshay says, “My brother Bijay Bariki and sister National awardee Aparajita Parida also pursue this art form and teach youngsters. Pattachitra art brings in mostly tales of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Lord Jagannath.We have also learnt the art of Tal-Patra (Palm-Leaf) engraving which is very popular with buyers from foreign countries.”

Keeping the tradition alive hasn’t been easy in a digital age. “Some young artists have tried to make quick money using screen printing instead,” Akshay says. “My father, who heads our village committee, helped pass a resolution imposing a five-thousand-rupee fine on anyone caught doing this. So much time and effort go into our work, and honestly, the price we get still doesn’t match that effort.”

Despite the challenges, Akshay’s work has travelled far beyond Raghurajpur. He has exhibited in Dubai, Russia, the United States, France, and Italy, and his paintings now hang in Rashtrapati Bhavan and inside the new Parliament building. He received the National Merit Award from the Union Ministry of Textiles in 2011, a UNESCO award in 2014, and a gold medal from the Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation in 2017 — milestones he says keep him going. “My father went to Delhi just once in his life,” he adds. “He never travelled outside the village to sell his work.”

The process behind each painting is painstaking. “We treat cotton cloth with a mix of tamarind gum and white chalk to prepare the base,” Akshay explains. “The colours are all natural, made from minerals, plants, and raw stones. From five primary colours, we mix and create every other shade we need.”

Looking ahead, Akshay isn’t sure how much longer the tradition will survive. He believes, “Young people today want quick results with less effort. Do you know there are different ways of painting just the eyes in Pattachitra? The way Lord Krishna looks at Radha or the gopis is completely different from how he’d look at a demon. Few youngsters have the patience to learn details like that. And with government schemes offering free rice and other benefits, there’s a certain comfort that’s made people less driven. Even when scholarships are available for this art, hardly anyone takes them up.” He pauses, then adds, “But our family’s commitment to keeping this tradition alive hasn’t wavered.