an integral part of our intangible heritage  which bears an essence of folk & traditional media

• Red from Lakshman (Annona muricata) - The seeds of lakshman are used to extract red colour. The seeds grow in spiky pods which grow in clusters at the top of the tree. The seeds are removed from the dried fruit pods. The seeds are rubbed by hand and the colour is collected in a dried coconut shell. The colour is dried in the sun and then natural glue is added to it.

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• Red from Segun (Teak) - The tender new leaves of segun tree are selected and plucked. The leaves are crushed and the colour is squeezed out in a dried coconut shell. The colour is left to dry in the sun before adding natural glue from wood apple.

 

• Red from Pan (Betel leaf) Chun (Lime)  & Khayer (Catechu) - These are mostly bought from the market to make a red colour. The ingredients are crushed together and the colour extracted. The colour is collected in a coconut shell and left to dry in the sun. Natural gum is added thereafter.

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• Blue from Aparajita flower (clitoria ternatea) - The blue flower whose name means ‘the unvanquished woman', grows prolifically, in Bengal, as a creeper and the petals are plucked. The flower is sometimes rubbed directly onto the paper to transfer the blue colour. Another method is petals are crushed in a coconut shell and then a cup full of gum is added to make a paste.

 

• White from Kusum Mati - Kusum Mati is a special type of clay and only the white stones are used to produce the white colour. White stones are collected and then rubbed onto a plain surface forming a white powder. The white powder is collected, kept in a pot and left to dry. A small amount of gum is added to the powder. Gum is used to ensure that the paint stays on the scrolls.

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• Green from Kundri (coccinia grandis) - The leaves of Kundri are used to make the green paint. The leaves are collected and crushed by a pestle. The colour is squeezed out and collected in a coconut shell. The colour is dried in the sun and then natural glue is added to it.

 

• Green from Barbati (Runner beans), Sem (flat beans), Bheranda (Jatropa) & Kesut (Bottle Green) - Green is also extracted from the leaves of Sem (or flat beans), Bheranda and Kesut (Bottle Green).

 

• Yellow from Turmeric  (curcuma longa) - Turmeric is a plant in the ginger family. Its roots are the source of a bright yellow spice and dye. The Patuas use this plant to produce the yellow colour. In the next step the turmeric is crushed into small pieces using a pestle. Then the small pieces are gathered and squeezed and the yellow juice is poured into a coconut shell. This liquid is left to dry for a few days and then the gum is added. Different shades of yellow can be obtained controlling the amount of exposure to sun light. To get a darker colour the pure juice is left for a  greater number of days in the sun, but if a bright colour is needed then the mixture has to be kept out of the sunlight.

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• Black from soot - Previously source of black soot was from oil lamps, cooking fires, burnt rice grains or burnt bamboo. Currently they do it by  scraping the soot out of lorry exhaust pipes with a stick. The soot is collected in a plastic bag.

 

• Natural Gum - Adding a cup full of gum made from Bel (wood apple) to each crushed colour and mixed with the finger. The coconut shells containing the colour are then left in the sunlight to deepen the colour, the amount of sun exposure equates to the darkness of colour.

 

• Handmade Brushes - The traditional handmade brushes are made from goat or squirrel hair. The hair is cut carefully from the scruff of the goat's neck. The goat needs to be 6 months to 1 year old at the most. The hair is  carefully wound around the wooden stick and a cotton thread (pulled from the fabric of an old sari) is wound around to bind the two together. However, nowadays due to  rules against animal cruelty the Patuas are using brushes which are readily available in the market.

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The Patuas achieve the correct shades of colour by mixing the main natural colours of white, red, green, yellow, blue, brown and black in coconut shells. Their tools include readily available  paintbrushes bought from the market or traditional handmade brushes.

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