In April 2023, Sarmaya collaborated with Sanctuary Asia for the global design challenge #36DaysOfType. Together, we embarked on an A-Z safari of India’s magnificent natural diversity, pairing objects from our collection with stunning photographs from Sanctuary Asia’s archives. This creative fusion resulted in the captivating series #IntoTheWild. On July 15, we hosted a pop-up exhibition of… Read more »
In 2021, we partnered with Learning Links Foundation (LLF), a renowned non-profit organisation in the field of education dedicated to enriching lives through learning across age groups. They are present across India and working with several partner organisations and schools. The pandemic has been hard on the children forcing them to stay at home and… Read more »
This textile celebrates and reveres the folk goddess Meladi Mata, depicted at the centre seated on a black goat. According to legend, Goddess Parvati created Meladi from the dirt on her body and bestowed her divine shakti or strength and a black male goat as her mount. Mata-ni-Pachedi or Chandarvo is a textile painting that… Read more »
![Untitled [Kohbar] - Folk Art](https://sarmaya.in/museum/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-Kohbar-Santosh-Kumar-Das-2012-Sarmaya-Arts-Foundation-1-453x375.jpg "Untitled [Kohbar] - Sarmaya")
Mithila or Madhubani art originated as a ritual wall painting in Mithila region, primarily done on the occasion of marriage. Traditionally, it has been a woman’s preserve. With modern times the medium of art shifted to canvas, and on rare occasions to cloth. Depicted here is one of the most popular and iconic of these… Read more »
This is a shadow puppet of Bangarakka, a comic character from Tholu Bommalaata, shadow puppet tradition of Andhra Pradesh in India. Here, tholu means leather, bommalu means puppets and aata means dance. Bangarakka, a female comic, and her husband Ketigadu are popular jesters best known for their witty and humorous dialogues during the performance of… Read more »
The Bengal Pattachitra is a visual and oral art tradition practised by the Patuas or Chitrakars of West Bengal. They earn their livelihood by telling stories from Hindu Mythology, local folklores, Sufi tradition and contemporary themes through paintings and songs. The unfolding or playing of the Pata is called ‘Pat Khelano’, and the song through… Read more »
The Bengal Pattachitra is a visual and oral art tradition practised by the Patuas or Chitrakars of West Bengal. They earn their livelihood by telling stories from Hindu Mythology, local folklores, Sufi tradition and contemporary themes through paintings and songs. The unfolding or playing of the Pata is called ‘Pat Khelano’, and the song through… Read more »
The Bengal Pattachitra is a visual and oral art tradition practised by the Patuas or Chitrakars of West Bengal. They earn their livelihood by telling stories from Hindu Mythology, local folklores, Sufi tradition and contemporary themes through paintings and songs. The unfolding or playing of the Pata is called ‘Pat Khelano’, and the song through… Read more »
The Bengal Pattachitra is a visual and oral art tradition practised by the Patuas or Chitrakars of West Bengal. They earn their livelihood by telling stories from Hindu Mythology, local folklores, Sufi tradition and contemporary themes through paintings and songs. The unfolding or playing of the Pata is called ‘Pat Khelano’, and the song through… Read more »
Santhali Patas (scrolls) document the day-to-day life of the Santhals, a tribal community from Eastern India. These patas are also known as Chakshudan Pata or Jadu Pata, and the artists who create them are commonly called Jadu Patuas. These painted scrolls are closely linked to the tribe’s belief system and its diverse rites and rituals… Read more »
A key focus at Sarmaya is to use our diverse, multi-genre collection to build awareness and engagement with Indian art, history and culture for children and young adults. We believe in collaborative engagement and team up with partners to access and reach children and communities across the country. We recently collaborated with Pratham Education Foundation… Read more »
This Pattachitra by Laltu Chitrakars depicts the ‘Santhal Janam Katha’, the birth story of the Santhal tribe. The festival of Makar Sankranti, known as Sakrat, is an important celebration in the community. This is an occasion for the Santhal community to go about singing songs from house to house and engage in festivities. Several songs are performed, including… Read more »
Bengal Pattachitra or Patua is a particularly absorbent, versatile, secular form of uniquely Indian art. The narratives are drawn from Hindu mythology—both mainstream, like the Ramayana, and regional, like the Manasa cult of the east Read more here. Many of the artists are descendants of Partition refugees and Islamic by faith. Uprooted from their lives… Read more »
PATTA PRIMER It’s a practice so ancient, precise and rooted in faith, the art it produces is considered worthy of worship. Like all living traditions, Odisha’s Pattachitra too has its fables, customs and idiosyncrasies. READ MORE EYES RIGHT Thanks to its harmonious play of colours, pleasing symmetry and recognisably Indian motifs, a Pattachitra is a joy… Read more »