Raghurajpur: Odisha’s dwelling heritage village the place artwork tells a timeless story
At Raghurajpur, artwork flows like a river via time. Located in Odisha’s Puri district, this heritage village is a dwelling testomony to creativity. Slender, winding lanes are lined with houses that double as workshops, their verandahs adorned with intricate Pattachitra scrolls, delicate palm-leaf engravings, and vibrant wood toys.
Seated on low stools, women and men work aspect by aspect — bringing mythological tales to life with positive strokes and pure colors, or carving intricate motifs into dried palm leaves. The scent of contemporary paint and the rhythmic tapping of chisels fill the air, echoing age-old traditions handed down via generations.
Girls portray motifs with pure colors on bottles at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district in Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
KR Deepak
Inside one such dwelling, 27-year-old Jyotiranjan Nayak sits beside his father, rigorously etching designs onto palm leaf, persevering with a household craft. His father, a grasp artist, started coaching him on the age of six. “Most kids right here begin studying at three. In truth, they choose up a paintbrush earlier than they even maintain a pencil. I used to be a bit late,” he says with a smile.
Jyotiranjan is one among 180 members of the Raghurajpur Chitra Karigari Co-operative Society, an organisation devoted to preserving these conventional artwork kinds.The village is dwelling to a number of nationwide award-winning artists who helped carry recognition to this once-obscure settlement. In 2000, following a two-year analysis and documentation initiative by the Indian Nationwide Belief for Artwork and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Raghurajpur was formally developed as Odisha’s first heritage village.
A Ramayana-themed Pattachitra portray at Raghurajpur heritage village in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
Each home right here is painted with vibrant Pattachitra motifs. “In the course of the pandemic, when enterprise got here to a halt, the Lalit Kala Akademi and Odisha’s Division of Language, Literature and Tradition offered monetary help of ₹10,000 per family, encouraging us to color our houses with these conventional murals,” says Jyotiranjan.
Lady sits exterior her home with crafts displayed on the verandah at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
Including to the village’s allure, the houses themselves function dwelling galleries — adorned with painted teapots, carved betel nuts, brightly colored coconuts, palm-leaf engravings, Pattachitra work, and papier-mâché toys and masks comprised of cow dung paste.
Historical legacy
An artist portray a coconut shell sitting on the verandah of his dwelling at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
Palm-leaf carvings, often known as Talapatra Chitra, date again to the 2nd Century BCE, once they have been used as manuscripts to report sacred texts and epics. The positive incisions on dried palm leaves, crammed with pure inks, have preserved mythological tales, spiritual scriptures, and royal decrees for hundreds of years.
In distinction, Pattachitra work have lengthy been entwined with Odisha’s temple traditions, notably inside the Jagannath cult. Characterised by daring strains, pure pigments, and complicated depictions of deities, these artworks have been initially created as temple choices and souvenirs for pilgrims visiting Jagannath Temple in Puri. The artwork kind stays deeply religious, with artists adhering strictly to age-old strategies of preparation and composition.
An artist portray a Pattachitra portray at his dwelling at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
Making a Pattachitra is, fairly actually, a craft rooted in devotion. Artists first make a canvas known as patt by gluing three layers of cotton material with tamarind paste. As soon as dry, the floor is polished with limestone powder for a clean end. The colors are all pure — black from lamp soot, white from seashell powder, yellow from harital stone, crimson from hingul, brown from mud, and blue from indigo. Over 25 shades are derived by mixing these base colors.
Raghurajpur just isn’t solely the heartland of Pattachitra but in addition dwelling to over ten completely different crafts, together with work on handmade canvas and tussar silk, stone carvings, papier-mâché masks, cow dung toys, and Ganjapataking part in playing cards. Every craft is a labour-intensive journey that calls for each precision and persistence.
Bablu Bariki exhibiting a Pattachitra portray at his dwelling at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
Bidyadhar Bariki, a 55-year-old artist, spent three months finishing a 40-inch-long Pattachitra depicting Lord Venkateshwara. “This one is particular,” he says, folding it rapidly to keep away from pictures. “I’m hoping to submit it for awards.” Like many artisans within the village, he and his son Bablu journey to cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai for exhibitions — their predominant supply of revenue. “Regardless of our heritage, Raghurajpur stays largely unknown,” Bablu laments. “There’s hardly any tourism promotion. Even Odisha’s airports don’t point out us.”
Sridhar Nayak portray a Pattachitra portray at his dwelling at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
In a single quiet nook of the village, Sridhar Nayak is rigorously engaged on a sprawling Pattachitra that narrates the complete Ramayana. “These work can final generations,” he says. “However with the rise of block-printed tussar silk, many individuals go for cheaper alternate options with out realising the labour and love behind originals.”
Past these celebrated artwork kinds, the village was as soon as a thriving hub for Ganjapa, a standard hand-painted taking part in card recreation rooted in Odisha’s cultural historical past. The craft of Ganjapa card-making, recognized for its round playing cards adorned with mythological and folks motifs, has pale over time, overshadowed by trendy leisure. As soon as practiced by a number of artisans in Raghurajpur, at the moment, just one artist stays, striving to maintain the custom alive. With diminishing demand and youthful generations shifting away from the craft, Ganjapa faces an unsure future.
A girl sits exterior her home with partitions painted with Pattachitra motifs at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
77-year-old Banamali Mohapatra, the one surviving artist to make the Ganjapa playing cards, exhibiting his work at his dwelling at Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
A view of the doorway of the Raghurajpur heritage village, recognized for Pattachitra and palm leaf engravings, in Puri district of Odisha.
| Photograph Credit score:
Ok R Deepak
Raghurajpur stays a testomony to Odisha’s inventive resilience. Nonetheless, the survival of its traditions hinges on visibility and assist. The entry of Taj Puri Resort and Spa has offered an important enhance, with the posh resort actively selling the village and its artisans to a wider viewers.
“We’re curating excursions and experiences for our visitors that showcase the village and its artwork,” says Ankit Tandon, Common Supervisor on the resort. “Guests watch artists at work — engraving palm leaves or portray Pattachitra — and infrequently buy items to take dwelling.”
This initiative, together with rising consciousness, is anticipated to carry renewed recognition to Raghurajpur.
(The author was in Puri on the invitation of Taj Puri Resort and Spa)
Revealed – April 03, 2025 07:01 pm IST
