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| Art & Craft |
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Wherever one goes in Orissa, one can find almost the entire range of arts and crafts in the
market places of the main towns and cities. Co-operative societies have played an important role in preserving the rich craft
heritage of the State by ensuring easy access to customers and thus sustaining a continuous demand for products. But perhaps
the secret of Orissa’s crafts lies in their fascinating combination of beauty and utility-a tribute to the vision of the craftsmen.
Instead of being merely decorative reminders of another age, the crafts of Orissa are gloriously alive-suited to modern tastes
and yet retaining all the essential traditional links with a checkered past.
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Patachitra
Just 70 km away, on the sea coast lies Puri, a temple and beach town that shares and mirrors some of Bhubaneswar’s
arts and crafts, even as it nurtures arts and crafts that are uniquely its own. In the famous exquisitely carved Jagannath temple,
an annual ritual has given birth to a treasured art form. Three paintings on specially treated cloth or patas are prepared by the
temple painter and hung inside the sacred precincts of the temple. Originating as a ritual, patas developed over the years, as a
distinct school of painting executed by the chitrakar (artist) community. Blood red, red ochre, lamp black, yellow, white and
indigo blue sometimes offset each other, sometimes blend to form patachitras in the skilled hands of talented chitrakars who follow
in the footsteps of their forefathers.
The word patachitra is derived from the Sanskrit word pata, which means a painted piece of cloth, a picture, a tablet or a plate.
Chitra means painting or picture. Elements of folk and sophisticated art and craft characterise each finely executed patachitra.
Since olden times, pilgrims to Puri have been carrying home the colourful patas or patachitras as precious mementos- just as they
carry back Ganga jal (water from the holy Ganges) form Haridwar. The patas from Puri are sought after by tourists and art lovers both in
India and abroad.
The chitrakars live and practice their hereditary art in Puri and in two villages on its outskirts-Raghurajpur and Dandshahi. In
Raghurajpur, there are close to fifty families of pata painters. Each of them has a family sketchbook handed down from generation to
generation. Gods and Goddesses, the lilas (fanciful but allegorical activities) of Lord Krishna, legends and animals, are all
depicted in the sketchbooks. These books are the chitrakars most valuable possessions and are worshipped along with the family gods.
Besides pata paintings, the chitrakars also make unique, circular playing cards known as ganjifa which are popular in villages all
over Orissa.
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Palm Leaf Writing
Away from the shops and bazaars, in some friendly Oriyan household or in a temple or at an astrologer’s place, the
ancient art of palm leaf writing still survives. Religious texts continue to be read out from palm leaf manuscripts
rather than from printed books. Horoscopes, too, are traditionally written on palm leaves by professional horoscope makers
known as nahakas. Palm leaf was considered so sacred that even after printing presses began operating in Orissa, important texts
continued to be printed on the leaves instead of paper. The printing of New Year cards and wedding ivitations on palm leaf is
still popular in Orissa.
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Appliqué Art
The appliqué art perfected by the artisans of Pipli, a village 40 km from Puri on the Bhubaneswar-Puri route, now
decorates homes in various parts of the world. Like patachitras, appliqué work in Orissa also originated as a temple art.
Coloured cloth, after being cut and shaped into the forms of birds, animals, flowers, leaves, and other decorative motifs is
stitched onto a cloth piece designed as a wall hanging, garden or beach umbrella, a lamp shade and other utility items.
Since the past decade or so, saris and household linen in appliqué work are also being produced in increasing numbers. Tiny mirrors
in a whole range of geometrical shapes and designs are then encapsulated by thread embroidery to create a striking work of art.
Four basic traditional colours- red, yellow, white and black are used, while green has been added in comparatively recent times.
Besides Puri, appliqué work is also practised to some extent in Chitki, Barpali, and a couple of other places.
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Carving
Over the centuries, Puri has preserved a superb tradition of carving, dating back to the Kalinga School. Craftsmen
in Pathuriasahi at Puri use soft soapstone and hard kochila to carve replicas of temple sculptures. At Mangalpur near Balasore, skilled
craftsmen carve utensils of rare beauty from the semi-grey stone of Khiching.
In addition to stoneware, stylised animal and bird toys meticulously carved out of wood, and painted wooden masks, once used in plays
based on the Mahabharata and Ramayana are a feast for the eyes. The craftsmen of Khandapara in Puri are masters at carving plates,
bowls, jugs, flower vases and other decorative and functional articles from a creamy white wood.
Carving in Puri is not confined to stone and wood alone. The porous roots and stem of a water plant are being used since ancient times
to carve miniature statues of gods and goddesses, temple replicas, animals, decorative hangings, garlands. Known as Sholapith work, the
carved articles, if left in natural off-white, look like ivory. When painted, they acquire a distinctive sheen. The papier-mâché art of
Puri, Chikti Barpali, Parlakhamedi (Ganjam district), and a few villages around Cuttack has unusual features. The papier-mâché toys
produced by the craftsmen have detachable limbs and nodding heads.
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Metal Work
A small, select group of gifted Puri craftsmen also persevere with the traditional craft of making brass icons. Elsewhere in the state, in small places such as Behrampur and
Belguntha (in Ganjam district), Tarva (Bolangir district), Chandanpur, Phulbani, and Kantilo are scattered some 15,000 families
who specialise in producing a variety of brass and bell metal craft objects, which exhibit extraordinary craftsmanship. In Tarva, the
craftsmen fashion beautiful utilitarian and decorative objects such as plates, ashtrays and bells out of white metal. About 230 tribal
families produce prized dhokra metalware items-boxes, lamps, figures of deities-by the cire perdue or lost wax method.
The highly refined, delicate craft of tarkashi or silver filigree work is practised in Cuttack. Silver is beaten and drawn into fine
wires and foils, which are then joined together to form articles-generally ornaments-of stirring beauty. The snow glazed
filigree work or tarkashi of Cuttack was once sought after by royal households and merchants from far and wide. Today, the tarkashi
workers continue to uphold the traditions of outstanding workmanship, but the clientele has changed, resulting in a
comparatively reduced, standardised variety of articles.
Besides its famed tarkashi, Cuttack is also well known for its horn work. Buffalo and cow horns are used by skilled artisans to produce
tastefully designed ashtrays, jewellery, figures of birds and animals. |
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| Patachitra |
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| Patachitra Painting |
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| Palm Leaf Painting |
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| Applique (Lamp Shade) |
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| Metal Work |
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