Answer:
The Kalighat Temple was an important destination for local people and pilgrims. There was a great demand for religious art. Many artists immigrated to the cities in search of secure employment. Many of the artisans and craftsmen nocked to Kalighat area to earn by selling religious art. They set up stalls outside the Temple. In the villages they were patuas or scroll painters. The traditional art of scroll painting was very popular in Bengal. These paintings were done on patas or cloth and depicted images of god sand goddesses and scenes from the epics. The style was non-realistic and non-life like. The patuas would travel from village to village, unrolling the scroll a section at a time and singing the stories to their audiences. However, the visitors to Kalighat did not want to buy long scrolls. The patuas therefore started painting single pictures involving just one or two figures that could be painted quickly with simple forms leaving the background plain and eliminating non- essential details. Also instead of cloth or handmade paper, they used manufactured paper. Secondly, instead of natural colours, they started using manufactured water-colours. Soon, the Kalighat patuas were turning over hundreds of these cheap paintings on paper which were bought by pilgrims.
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