Famine Tales brings together a unique visual retelling of historical famine narratives from both India and Britain, presented through two distinct artistic traditions. This anthology offers two interpretations of each famine story—one created by the patachitrakars of Naya village in Medinipur, West Bengal, and another by contemporary comics artists.

The Naya artists, renowned for their traditional scroll paintings (patachitra), illustrate these tales in a style deeply rooted in Bengal’s folk heritage. Their scrolls draw inspiration from original narrative poems composed by the legendary patachitrakar, the late Dukhushyam Chitrakar, whose works have long captured the social and emotional toll of famine. Alongside these, a second group of artists adapts the same historical events into the form of modern comics, offering a parallel yet distinct visual storytelling experience.

The anthology spans multiple periods of history, from dearth in Bengali oral poetry to famine in Shakespearean England, Peter Mundy’s 17th-century travels through famine-stricken Surat and Agra, the Midlands Rising of 1607, and the devastating Bengal Famine of 1770. Through these diverse narratives, Famine Tales provides a striking exploration of how food scarcity and economic hardship have shaped societies, leaving lasting imprints on collective memory and cultural identity.

With its fusion of folk art and contemporary comics, this collection presents an engaging and accessible approach to understanding the history of famine. It highlights the intersection of art, storytelling, and history, making the subject both visually compelling and deeply thought-provoking.