Chitranjan Swain

Chitranjan Swain was born into a family of chitrakars (painters) in the heritage craft village of Raghurajpur, near Puri in Odisha. Every house in this village practices some form of traditional art, but the Swain family is renowned for their mastery of Pattachitra — the ancient scroll painting tradition of Odisha that dates back over a thousand years.

Pattachitra literally means "cloth painting" (patta = cloth, chitra = painting). The process begins with preparing the canvas — layers of cloth are glued together with tamarind seed paste and coated with a mixture of chalk and gum to create a smooth, durable surface. The colours are entirely natural: white from conch shells, red from hingula stone, yellow from haritala, blue from indigo, and black from lamp soot.

Chitranjan learned the art sitting beside his father and grandfather from the age of seven. Today, he works alongside his mother, who helps prepare the canvases while he paints the intricate mythological scenes — stories of Lord Jagannath, Krishna Leela, and episodes from the Ramayana. Each painting can take anywhere from two weeks to three months depending on the size and complexity of the narrative.

His work has been exhibited at national craft fairs and has found admirers among interior designers who use Pattachitra panels as statement pieces in luxury homes, hotels, and cultural spaces. Chitranjan believes that every painting carries the prayers and devotion of the artist — "When I paint Jagannath, I am not just making art. I am offering my prayer through my hands."