Exploring Pattachitra of Raghurajpur and Appliqué of Pipili

A neat lane with identical houses is the first thing that you will see as you set foot in the Raghurajpur. Ajit Swain Ji introduced me to Bipin Das Who was busy working on one of his Pattachitra orders. He welcomed me inside his house and started showing me around. For the uninitiated Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village in Puri district in Bhubaneshwar. It is worldwide famous for its adept Pattachitra Painters and Gotipua dance troupes. This idyllic village on the banks of the River Bhargabi appears unreal. The village looks like a set from some art and craft project. All the houses have bright colour walls with  Pattachitra paintings hanging outside.

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Process of Pattachitra Painting

I made myself comfortable in the room filled with Pattachitra and Bipin ji very patiently explained the whole process. What looks like just painting is actually the result of a lot of tenacious work. The process begins with the preparation of canvas (pata). Cotton cloth is used to prepare the canvas as it is soft and gives a fine texture. Traditionally, the cotton canvas was used; now, both cotton and silk canvas are used for paintings. The cotton canvas is dipped in a solution of crushes tamarind seeds and water for a few days. The fabric is then taken out and dried in sun.

Once the fabric is dry, a paste of chalk powder, imli and gum are applied on both side of the layered cloth and it is sun-dried. After drying, the canvas is rubbed with varied varieties of stones to smoothen the texture and provide lustre. Coming to the colours, in the ancient times various vegetables and mineral resources were used to make colours. It used to take a lot of time. But now colours are easily made with readily available stones and natural ingredients. The colours are mixed in the coconut shells while using them for the paintings.

Painting Pattachitra

Bipin Ji explained that borders are an integral part of Pattachitra. Hence it is the first to go on the canvas on all the four sides. With the help of a pencil, the artisan draws the outlines. The body colours are then added followed by colouring the attires. Once the painting is complete, the outline will be given to the figure using black colour. Black and white are the prominent colours for the paintings. Talking about the inspirations behind the paintings, the themes are mainly close-knit around various deities of Indian religion and mythological narratives that we usually hear from our parents and grandparents.

But as Pattachitra scaled global heights the themes were expanded to include tribal lives, flora, fauna and wild lives. These themes help people from all over the world in easy comprehension of the stories depicted in Pattachirtra. People from all over the world visit the craft village Raghurajpur to witness and take home the craft of pattachitra scroll paintings. So it makes all the sense in the world to broaden the horizons of inspirations for the paintings. The most common religious illustrations that you would find in Pattachitra encompass the story of Hindu epics like, mythology, Ramayana, Mahabharata narrating stories of Hindu gods and goddesses like, Krishna, Chaitanya, Kali, Shiba and the indigenous Bengali folklore of Manasha and Chandi, Behula and Lakshinder being the most popular. Paintings of Dashavatara or the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Lord Jagannath and Lord Krishna is something that you would find in every house.

Raghurajpur is also famous for Tala Patra Chitra (palm leaf engraving)

Most people associate Raghurajpur with Pattachitra scroll paintings, but the village is equally well-known for tala patra chitra, or palm leaf engraving. While Pattachitra involves intricate moves Tala Patra Chitra is equally intricate. Bipin Ji showed me an extremely intricate painting of the Dashavatara, which took him six months to complete. Just like Pattachitra, this art also has various steps. Each palm leaf painting goes through a number of processes—from stitching sun-dried palm leaves together to sketching the subject, engraving it with a needle, and staining it with lamp soot. Just to give me an idea Bipin ji engraved a small flower on one of the palm leaves. It was enough to give me an idea of how time-consuming and tenacious the craft is.

Explore the interiors of the Raghurajpur village

While the first look of the village is all dreamy and colourful, it is the interiors of the village which keeps Raghurajpur’s spirit alive. All the Pattachitra and Tala Patra Chitra that you see at the entrance of the village is actually made in the interiors of the village. As Ajit Swain Ji look me further inside of the village, I could notice the difference. In every house, you would find artisans with their heads deep buried and mind engrossed in their work. Far away, totally oblivion of a world where art is commercial, these artisans are working every hour and minute to the day to keep the craft alive. The only constant vibe is creativity and colours. All the houses, albeit small, are painted in bright colours. And almost all of them have colourful masks and a wide variety of paper mache products on display.

Besides Pattachritra and palm leaf engraving, Raghurajpur artists also make toys, paper masks, coconut shell paintings, and wood carvings. With colourful houses inundated with Pattachitra, tala patra chitra, masks, paper mache products, the village looks like a bright assortment of colours on canvas. Almost every house in the village sells the craft. The drawing room of every house has all the art on the display. You can simply walk in and look around and buy anything and everything that you like.

Raghurajpur is a picturesque village

Along with everything that the village has to offer in terms of art and craft, the village picturesque in every aspect. With various water bodies here and there and calming palm trees, the village also soothes your mind and body. After you familiarize yourself with the art offerings of the village, I highly advise you to soak in the tranquillity of the village. I would have never seen this side of the village if it wasn’t for Ajit Swain Ji.

How to Reach:  Raghurajpur is accessible via taxi from Puri (10 km/30 min) and Bhubaneswar (58 km/1 hr).

Where to Buy: Almost all the artists in Raghurajpur sell samples of their work from their home-workshops. All the craft items are on display in the drawing rooms of the houses. You can simply walk-in, look around and buy directly from the artisans.

Exploring Appliqué Craft in Pipili 

While you are at Raghurajpur, I urge you to take some time out and visit Pipili. Famous for colourful Appliqué (locally known as Chandua), Pipili is a small town close to Raghurajpur. The town greets you with mirror-encrusted lanterns and umbrellas, gently swaying in the breeze outside handicraft shops. The streets of Pipili are riots of colour.  Appliqué involves sewing colourful patches of cotton, jute, and silk onto a contrasting fabric with special embroidery techniques. You will see colourful cushion covers, lampshades, bed covers, bags, and umbrellas all over the streets of Pipili.

The erstwhile rulers of Puri, who were followers of Lord Jagannath, promoted the craft. They resettled all the chandua artisans in the same village, which grew into present-day Pipili. Common appliqué products include, More importantly, chandua adorns the giant chariots of the divine trinity of Odisha—Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balabhadra—during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri. The artisans are trying to give the craft a modern touch by integrating motifs from pattachitra, Warli, and saura tribal paintings, and playing around with new colour palettes.

How to Reach: Pipili is accessible via NH316 from both Bhubaneswar (24 km/40 min) and Puri (36 km/40 min).
Where to Buy: The main street of Piplili has a variety of with crafts shops. You can walk-in in any of the shops and buy directly from them.

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