Summary:
PATNA: Patna Kalam paintings, once very popular in the state, are now just limited to the walls of Patna Museum , College of Arts and Crafts and Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library her. The major buyers of such paintings were the Britishers, who used to buy them in bulk.”Sharma, who has also authored a book titled ‘Patna Kalam’, added, “The Britishers used to buy the paintings as souvenirs from Patna. The masterpieces of this art form are outside the country.”The Patna Kalam paintings are currently exhibited in different museums of Britain and in possession of private buyers, mostly foreigners. Of late, Patna Kalam, a school of painting and an amalgamation of Mughal painting and British school of painting, which flourished in the state between 18th and 20th century, has lost sheen.Shyam Sharma, former principal of College of Arts and Crafts, Patna, said, “The Patna School of Painting or Patna Kalam was originally developed by the Mughal painters, who moved from Murshidabad to Patna fearing terror of Aurangzeb around the 18th century. The line, composition, structure and form of the painting can be applied to recreate a new art form.”.