Patua

The Patua (Bengali: পটুয়া, paṭuẏā) are an artisan community found in the state of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in India and parts of Bangladesh. Some Patuas are Hindus, while others are Muslims. Hindu Patuas are active in the Kalighat and Kumartuli regions of Calcutta, along with some other parts of West Bengal, where they are reduced in number. It is believed that most Patuas are actually converts from Hinduism to Islam. Today, they practice customs that are both Hindu and Islamic in nature. They may have also been Buddhist at various points in time. Today, however, the majority of them are impoverished Muslims who rely on patronage from mainly Hindus, but also increasingly from tourists who buy their painted scrolls, as Frank J. Korom has described and analysed in his book Village of Painters: Narrative Scrolls from West Bengal (2006. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press).

Scholars argue that the Patuas, were originally Hindus, were cast out of the Hindu society for not following canonical proceedings in pursuing their trade. Patuas are also known Patigar or Chitrakar.^[1]