Bibi playing Guitar

A modern lady of the then Kolkata is painted here in this art piece by Bahadur Chitrakar. The get up of the lady suggests, she belongs to the affluent and literate class of urban Kolkata, who were privileged of being introduced to education and would get the liberty of pursuing their hobbies. The painting holds up a picture of the socio-economic scenario of the era. Such paintings are testimony of their time. 

The location of these Patachitra Shilpi or artists falls in a place, popularly known as Jangal Mahal in West Bengal. The area is home to a number of indigenous tribes like Santhals, Vills, Mundas. The paintings, for obvious reasons, depict the tribal culture. One such example by Nazra Chitrakar, who learnt the art from her older generations and is now passing it on to her successors. The painting shows how the tribal youth goes hunting and fishing. Their hunts are always accompanied by Madal (a kind of drum) the beats of which brings the animals and the birds out of their hide outs.