From Under the Banyan Tree to the World

Battala literally means “under the banyan” and referred to spaces in every Bengali locality that were used for resting, gathering, worship or business. Under one such battala in the ‘native’ quarters of Chitpur (North Kolkata), this local print industry mushroomed up and thrived like no other.

Today, there is no sign of the banyan tree and no way to know exactly where in Chitpur this industry began. But it is without doubt that in the mid-19th century, the area saw a proliferation of Indian-owned printing presses.

The battala presses thrived on the production of ephemera – pamphlets, novellas, textbooks, almanacs and erotica, among others.

Written in Bengali and produced quickly on cheap paper, this material was extremely popular among the semi-educated population of Kolkata.

As more and more vernacular presses began to crop up in neighbouring areas, the term battala came to encompass everything cheap, popular and even obscene in Bengali literature.

As if on cue, a large cluster of woodcarvers and printmakers grew in this area setting up studios close to the bookmakers and churning out material in collaboration.

The most widely sold battala publications were the almanacs, sometimes being modelled on the European diary to increase functionality and demand.

The presses also published genres termed ‘questionable’ in the polite circles of 19th century Bengali society – erotica, sensational current affairs and guptokotha (secret stories). The last of these genres gained unexpected popularity courtesy the inclusion of the very gossip, crime and taboo topics that were frowned upon by the English-educated Bengali bhadralok. 

The illustrations in the guptokothas had a unique voyeuristic quality to them – one could peep into house interiors, accompany a babu on his sexual escapades in the bordello district or walk along with the protagonist as he encountered murderous criminals or licentious women.

Another collaboration that the battala print-makers continue till today is that with the Bengali stage. Bengal’s history of public theatres and jatras (mobile folk-theatre) is notable. In the 19th century, when theatre literally occupied centre stage in the entertainment industry of Kolkata, the battala printers provided these companies with publicity material and jatrapalas (the narrative text). 

The influence of the theatre is clearly evident in the visual aesthetic of the prints. Many of them (including this one) were accompanied by stage lights and scalloped curtains in the background.

In the same illustration, an attempt has also been made to create a stage setting with pillars, a horizontal line demarcating the edge and miniaturised figures of musicians positioned in the foreground.

The battala artist's love for theatre was evident in his treatment of non-theatrical subjects as well. In this image of a Hindu deity, for example, one can see the scalloped curtains and stage lights. In some ways, these additions heightened the visual impact of encountering such religious images – as if the gods were really performing an act of darshan and presenting themselves in front of the devotee to be propitiated.

The battala printers also created single-sheet illustrations that were sold in their own right as collectibles. By far, the largest in this type were representations of Hindu divinities and mythological stories. 

These were bought by sections of society that could not afford expensive paintings, and were used as home decor or in personal shrines.

A second group of pictures also developed in the single-sheet type. They are today clubbed under the umbrella term of ‘social pictures’. 

They were often satirical comments on the emerging ‘babu culture’, political propaganda by nationalist groups for mass circulation or straightforward visual reports of current affairs and scandals.

The murder and the following case generated so much public interest in Kolkata that the local painters began making single-sheet drawings of the events and selling them outside Kalighat, among other temple souvenirs.

Over time, the battala artists also took up the theme and continued to use the same visual language developed by the Kalighat artists.

In this print, for instance, one may notice a certain iconography being developed for each episode of the story and passed around artists working in different mediums.

Set within theatrically parted curtains and the slight hint of a stage, the first and the last 'scenes' of the narrative are illustrated - Elokeshi meeting the priest (on the left) and the fatal blow of Nabeen (on the right).

Another interesting category of single-sheet illustrations were those used in product publicity. These labels and posters advertising all kinds of products from hair-oil to tobacco rolls were accompanied by images inspired both from the European visual repertoire and from those familiar to the people of Bengal.

This advertisement has a representation of the Jagannath Temple of Puri. This is a familiar sight for most across Bengal and Orissa, but the primary content of the advertisement is at the bottom half.

Outside the temple, everyday life goes on – somebody smokes a hookah and another lies on the ground getting his pulse checked. He has probably fainted due to the heat. The text at the bottom is a conversation encouraging people to drink tea.

The social milieu in which the battala industry developed played a discerning role in the creation of its distinct aesthetics. From the indigenous crafts of Bengal to imported European paintings, a range of factors contributed in creating a unique visual vocabulary for these woodcut prints. 

Those working in the battala printing industry were traditional artisans – goldsmiths, carpenters and woodcarvers. For generations they had practiced their skills in cutting, furrowing, carving and chipping in a variety of surfaces. In the altered economic scenario, they began to adapt their skills to suit new needs.

This was also a time of the rapid influx of European paintings and prints into the port of Kolkata. Exposed to this material, the battala artist began to include western components into his art. From winged cherubs hovering over a Hindu deity to a woman playing the violin – the European found its way into the most unexpected of places in these prints.

This particular illustration is a direct attempt at replicating the European visual aesthetic. A couple in western attire is seated across a small table. The woman has a hairdo that is typically classified as 'western' and wears an off-shoulder gown with large puffed sleeves. She also plays the violin. The man on the other side of the table wears a high-collared jacket with an epaulette (an ornamental shoulder piece used as insignia of rank by armed forces).

The table in the centre is filled with eatables and cutlery, special attention being given to a fork and a spoon. The man is in the process pouring a beverage (most likely alcohol) in a glass.

The addition of the server in Indian attire is not to be missed. He stands behind the couple holding a bowl, cut off from the main scene and almost invisible unless called upon by his employer. This is also a subtle commentary on the colonisation of the country and subjugation of the 'native'.

However, the most interesting examples of the European influence on battala artists are the religious images.

In these prints, Hindu gods are often guarded by uniformed soldiers with guns and their palladian mansions are topped by flying cherubs, sphinxes and eagles.

The attendant figure on the right plays a violin - an 18th century Western import to India.

This exposure to an alien artistic method also led the local artists to experiment with perspective, foreshortening and chiaroscuro.

Attempts at introducing a foreground were made by the addition of railings in architectural set-ups, linear perspective was employed in drawing Victorian furniture and human figures were endowed with volume through contouring and shading.

The artist has attempted to play with perspective here and makes the garment and feet of the attendant figures partially visible through the railings.

In some instances the woodblocks were directly traced from the paintings and the prints then quickly coloured with cotton swabs in an emulation of the patas.

The Kalighat painters and the battala print-makers continued to work in collaboration throughout the 1880s, until print media began to completely dominate the popular art market. This eventually led to the disappearance of the scroll painters.