46 year old Kripamoyee Karmakar of Bonbirsingha village is a pater Durga painter. Her village is a short distance from the Jamkuri Rajbari where descendants of a branch of the Malla kings of Bishnupur reside. She comes from a family of Karmakars herself. She claims that her family is descended from the first pater Durga maker of Jamkuri, Gunadhar Karmakar, who as awarded land as gifts by the then king. 

Though not a traditional painter, Kripamoyee had a talent for painting from a young age. Hailing from a family of metal workers (Karmakar) from Bardhaman, she was married off soon after she completed her schooling (Madhyamik) in 1992. Her father-in-law was Nitai Karmakar of Bonbirsingh in Bankura, who was well established as the painter of the Thakurani patas of Jamkuri. Nitai recognized her skill and started training her and passed on the responsibility to her eventually. She would sit by his side and observe and try to emulate. She did this for 10 years and when her father-in-law passed in 2001, she had to take up the mantle from the following year. At first, she would place a pata painted by Nitai in front of her and assiduously copy it; over time, she mastered the art. But she did not paint anything beyond those four annual patas. During the rest of the year, she would be busy working metal, crafting object like madulis. 

Since Nitai used to prepare the colours for her to use, she first had to learn how to mix colours herself. In this she was guided by her husband. The first step is to refine the khori mati (chalky clay) by diluting it with water and sieving it through a cotton cloth multiple times to separate it from grit or sand. This is then mixed with glue from the wood apple or tamarind seeds, until a smooth, thick paste is formed.  This will be used as the base coat for her canvas. Similarly other colours, either procured from clays or stone rubbings, are sieved and mixed with glue. However, she now uses “natural” powder colours bought from a particular local shop; she claims these are not chemical colours. It takes her a month to make these four patas. When painting a pata for the Jamkuri temple, Kripamoyee follows a purification ritual herself – she takes a bath, wears fresh clothes and does not touch any food or wash any utensils. If she should take a break for food, she bathes again before resuming her painting. 

Kripampoyee’s work started to attract attention sometime in 2007, thanks to a local teacher and researcher. People started visiting her village and in 2013, she was invited to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi and then the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sanghralaya (National Museum of Humankind) in Bhopal. Within a few years, she began to be invited to museums and workshops in other cities around the country. She also started painting patas on other themes, but these cannot be viewed as traditional. Though it is traditional thakurani pata painting that gives her the greatest pleasure, this is not her main source of income – metal work, tailoring and knitting are what sustain her and her family. 

Kripamoyee also paints the Mahamari (epidemic) pata for the Rajeswari temple, that is worshipped at the dead of night on Nabami. According to her, the original painting had been commissioned by a Jamkuri king a long time ago, possibly during a severe outbreak of cholera in the area. The painting is possibly that of the folk goddess Sitala. The story goes that the king was visited by the goddess in a dream and ordered to worship her. From then onwards this worship is conducted every Nabami but in the greatest of secrecy, away from the public eye, Kripamoyee told us. The painting itself is not viewed either by the priest or the members of the palace, the only witnesses to the puja. It is kept folded and worshipped thus. This is because there is a superstition attached to this painting – whosoever sees it will die in three days. Apparently, the original artist died soon after he completed the painting. Over time, quite naturally, the original painting began to disintegrate, but no artist dared to touch it, in spite of repeated requests from the royal household. 

Well after Nitai’s death, it was Kripamoyee who agreed to touch up the painting – this was in 2011.The painting, which is about three and a half feet high, has not been touched since, but the quick-witted Kripamoyee, quite unafraid, returned home and quickly made a copy of the painting from memory. She readily shows it to people and the fear among the villagers has begun to dissipate. But the special Nabami puja carries on. 

Kripamoyee is a two-time winner of the Bankura district award for handicrafts. She has taught her son the thakurani painting tradition and it is he who will continue the practice after her.