While illustrating the story of Shekkhopir-deshe Durbhikkho,the artists faced many challenges when it came to painting the scroll narrative. The early modern English context was entirely unfamiliar to them. Working with the descriptions and some…

In his poem, Dukhushyam Chitrakar describes the condition of England in the 1590s, using details from previous discussions of this historical context and the maps, illustrations, and texts at his disposal. He adapts and incorporates into his own poem…

The story of Shekkhopir-deshe Durbhikkho is based on academic sources and research which were discussed with the artists before they began composing the narrative poem and pattern for the scroll. The conversations about the famine in England in the…

This is the structure followed by Dukhushyam Chitrakar while composing the poem for the scroll painting. It is based on the research notes, source translations, summaries, and discussions with Ayesha Mukherjee and Sujit Mondal.

These are the initial research notes on sources shared with the artists, on the basis of which discussions were begun. One of the challenges of this story was the wide variety of sources - from official records to literary works. We focussed on…

This is a Bengali translation of excerpts from historical accounts in the EIC’s records, Hunter’s Annals, and poems (both English and Bengali originals) with a summary of the historical context. It was created for the scroll painters who could not…

Chhiattor-er Monnontor (The Bengal Famine of 1769-70) is based on academic sources and research which was discussed with the artists. On that basis, Dukhushyam Chitrakar first composed a poem and set it to music. The painting then began with a…

These images and video show the painters at work, with the natural colours they made themselves. The panels of the scroll were painted collectively by the chitrakar community over several days.In this video we interview the women painters (Jahanara…

The story of Chhiattor-er Monnontor is based on academic sources and research which was discussed with the artists. On that basis, Dukhushyam Chitrakar first composed a poem and set it to music. The painting then began with a pencilled outline of the…

The story of Chhiattorer Monnontor (the Bengal famine of 1769-70) is based on academic sources and research which was discussed with the artists. On that basis, Dukhushyam Chitrakar first composed a poem and set it to music. This poem narrates the…

The story of Chhiattor-er Monnontor is based on academic sources and research which were discussed with the artists before they began composing the narrative poem and pattern for the scroll. The conversations about the famine took place over several…

The story of Chhiattorer Monnontor (the Bengal famine of 1769-70) is based on academic sources and research which was discussed with the artists. The artists were given access to research materials and sources relevant to their story. These images…

In this video, one of the artists Argha Manna explains the development of the graphic narrative, and takes us through his remarkably detailed and well-researched sketchbook of preparatory drawings.

These images show the artists’ initial planning sketches, created while researching the history of the famine, and their work-in-progress as they developed the storyline and made decisions about framing the Chhiattor narrative within their imagined…

This is a Bengali translation of excerpts from Mundy's Travels, with a summary of the historical context. It was created for the scroll painters who could not read the original text in English.

These are the initial research notes on sources shared with the artists, on the basis of which discussions were begun.

These images are the final version of the story.

This video shows the artist's work-in-progress, as he develops his methods of representation.

These images show the artist's initial sketches and work-in-progress as he makes decisions on how to develop the storyline.

Mundy Shaheb-er Golpo (The Tale of Mundy Shaheb) is based on academic sources and research which was discussed with the artists. On that basis, Dukhushyam Chitrakar first composed a poem and set it to music. The painting then began with a pencilled…

The images show Dukhushyam Chitrakar's first drafts of the poem he composed, and the transcribed version on the Famine and Dearth database, linked here, is the final iteration, which he set to music. The poem narrates Mundy's early years as a…

The story of Mundy is based on academic sources and research which were discussed with the artists before they began composing the narrative poem and pattern for the scroll. The conversations about Mundy Shaheb-er Golpo took place over several days…

These images and video show the painters at work, with the natural colours they made themselves. The panels of the scroll were painted collectively by the chitrakar community over several days. The order of panels were revised when the painters…

The story of Mundy is based on academic sources and research which was discussed with the artists. On that basis, Dukhushyam Chitrakar first composed a poem and set it to music. The painting then began with a pencilled outline of the entire story.…

This is a transcription of selections from Phullara's story in the Chandimangal that the artists used as a starting point.