'Instagram Of 19Th Century': Rare Artworks Called Patna Qalam

By Kunal Dutt

Patna ~ Before the advent of photography, they depicted social milieu, documented daily lives of ordinary people, and captured the essence of festivals and religious ceremonies, but this famed school of painting that once flourished in 19th-century Patna has largely been forgotten today.

Now, an exhibition titled 'Patna Qalam: Ek Virasat', currently on at the Patna Museum, presents some of its rare preserved specimens, with an endeavour to revive its legacy and introduce people to this now-lost artwork style.

“We have showcased about 130 items, which include Patna Qalam artworks made on different mediums like paper, mica, and ivory, and an album of such paintings with 45 folios, dating to about 1850-56,” Ashok Kumar Sinha, Additional Director, Bihar Museum, told PTI.

The exhibits have been drawn largely from the old collections of Patna Museum. They also include contributions of artworks from a private collector and a descendant of Hulas Lal, who was a Patna Qalam artist, Sinha said.

Sinha said that while there are a few private collectors of such artworks, and some exhibitions of this long-forgotten style may have been held in the past in Patna, it is the first time that Patna Qalam paintings are on display on such a scale at the museum.

The origin of Patna Qalam, also written as 'Patna Kalam', can be traced to sometime in the 18th century. It was largely patronised by the British, from the East India Company rule to the Raj era. Some museums and libraries in the UK also house Patna Qalam artworks.

It was an amalgamation of the Indian miniature style with the Western Company school of art, depicting a range of subjects, but it stands out for the vivid portrayal of the ordinary, native Indian population, from toddy sellers to glassware makers and from jugglers to washermen.

Besides Hulas Lal, Shiva Lal and Ishwari Prasad, among others, were prominent artists of Patna Qalam.

“Patna Qalam artists, in a way, were also documenting the lives of ordinary occupations through their art. They also portrayed religious rituals, and the portrayals of Muharram processions look iconic. One can see festivals like Deepavali and Dusshera in the paintings of that period, also 'barat' (bridal) processions. Patna Qalam was like the 'Instagram' of that era,” Sinha said.

Patna Qalam also serves as a window to help imagine how Patna was 200 years ago, when the artwork was flourishing, he said.

This school of art is said to have lasted from the second half of the 18th century to the 1940s, with its artists capturing the social milieu of that time through the use of subdued colours and lifelike depictions.

“One of the artworks depicts a few students, seemingly from different communities, together receiving education from an instructor under the glow of a lantern. Another shows the portrayal of Jhansi ki Rani, Rani Laxmibai, which is very rare. There are also arts which depict Patna's Golghar (built in 1786), ghats, and birds,” Sinha said.

According to available historical accounts and art experts, many artists migrated to Patna from Murshidabad in Bengal and settled in Old Patna (today's Patna City). They found the patronage of British officials, wealthy merchants and affluent sections of society, who commissioned them for works.

“Under their patronage, Patna Qalam artists created several artworks showing the ordinary lives of natives. The British officials posted in Patna used to send these back to England to let their friends and families know about the scenes in India, something people do on social media today,” the senior Bihar Museum official said.

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