Pata is one of the most significant ceremonial paintings of
Uttaranchal. It is an art of creating ritualistic images on large-sized papers called 'Patas'.
These paintings contain images derived from legends, Hindu mythology and the Puranas. Images of the deities, who are worshipped during the particular ritual, are also drawn. The usual color employed is red, although multicolored images are popular.
In almost every ceremonies conducted in the state, a symbol named Jev-Matrika and Lord Ganesh are worshipped. The Patas most often features these deities, along with Lord Krishna, Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Durga.
The usual practice is painting three images of Jev-Matrika along with a single image of Lord Ganesh. The empty spaces on the two sides of the Jev-Matrika are filled with geometrical patterns. These patterns, symmetric in nature, are created by placing dots at equal intervals and joining them with lines. In the local slang, this style of geometric patterns is referred by the name ‘Barood.’
