Shopaholic Alert 5 Heritage Crafts To Shop For When In Odisha

Home to over 52 craft skills, the state of Odisha is a powerhouse of talent and takes great pride in its vibrant arts and crafts. From the stone carvings that make up its famous temples to the patachitra artworks of Lord Jagannath to the colourful pipli applique work, this eastern Indian state has been home to a wide range of art and crafts for centuries. The state's heritage crafts include paintings, textiles, embroidery and tribal jewellery, with artefacts made from diverse materials such as stone, wood, metal, coir, clay, animal horns, feathers, sisal fibre, sabai grass, lacquer and more. Although many of them have origins rooted in religious rites and household requirements, today, they have evolved in form and presentation to attract modern buyers. Each region in Odisha has something unique to offer to the intrepid traveller. Here are five things you must bring back from your Odisha trip. 

Applique Work

What It Is&nbspThe colourful applique art of Odisha can be spotted across homes in India, often used as canopies during functions, as lampshades, decorative door hangings, and other interior decorations. The ancient craft with a GI (Geographical Indicator) tag dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries when applique work clothes and decorative pieces were used in the Jagannath Temple in Puri during religious processions. According to local people, the art originated as part of religious rites. The appliqued cloth would be used to make 'chandua' or canopy and 'chhati' or umbrella. If you visit Puri's Jagannath Temple during the annual Rathyatra (Chariot Festival), you can see the huge chariots bedecked with Odisha's applique work. Apart from other offerings, visitors to the temple offer applique banners, chanduas, umbrellas, and pouches to Lord Jagannath.

Where To Buy&nbspThe town of Pipili is the original home of this traditional art, and it derives its name from the place about 20 km from Bhubaneshwar. As you drive into the city, you will find rows of shops on both sides of the road with artists busy cutting coloured fabrics in various designs and stitching them on yards of cloth embellished with decorative stitches and glasswork. Today's colour palette of fabrics ranges beyond the traditional red, yellow, black and white. Traditionally, the motifs varied from flora and fauna to mythical figures the patterns are more contemporary now, with the common ones being figures of elephants, parrots, peacocks, and dancing girls. A master craftsman usually applies six stitching patterns&mdashbakhia, ganthi, taropa, chikana, button-hole and run-stitch.

Patachitra

What It Is&nbspPatachitra, the indigenous traditional painting style of Odisha practised by an artist community called chitrakars, has also received a Geographical Indicator (GI) tag. In the old days, patachitra artists would paint pictures of Lord Jagannath to be sold to pilgrims coming to Puri during the 'anasara' period (when the deities would remain in seclusion for a fortnight before the Rathayatra). A canvas is prepared using a paste of ground tamarind seed and chalk on a patta&mdasha strip of cotton cloth made of regional tussar silk. This lends a pale yellow background to perfectly contrast the vibrant images that retell legendary tales from the Puranas and epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The borders of the painting are completed first. The materials used in the paint are from vegetable, earth, and mineral sources. Miniature versions of patachitra also feature bookmarks, greetings and playing cards.

Where To Buy The town of Raghurajpur, about 5 km from Puri, is home to many families of chitrakars.

Palm Leaf Painting

What It Is&nbspOne of the oldest forms of painting and writing in the world, this craft is also known as talapatrachitra&mdashtala (palm), patra (leaf), and chitra (illustration). Before the advent of paper, the palm leaf was the canvas for writing and painting in most South and South East Asian countries. Stories were written, poems were weaved, and futures were predicted on palm leaves. It is believed that Lord Ganesha scripted the Mahabharata while Sage Vyasa dictated it. From ancient epics to Vedas, manuscripts to horoscopes, it is a marvel that this age-old method still survives today. The talapatachitra manuscripts were stored in temples they were also the centres for learning the skills. The process for treating and preparing palm leaves is quite elaborate.

Where To Buy&nbspPlaces like Puri, Raghurajpur, Dandasahi and Bhubaneswar are the centres for&nbsptalapatachitra.

Stone Carving

What It Is&nbspThe land of lofty temples built of stone and embellished with rich carvings, Odisha has been home to master stone carvers since immemorial. The art form is believed to date back to the 13th century when different dynasties ruled the region, and that diversity of culture is reflected in the craft. The craft finds its genesis in ancient temples, palaces, and monuments in the state. With its intricate sculptures and delicate carvings on red sandstone, the Sun Temple of Konark is probably the most well-known showcase of the art form. Incidentally, the stone carving of Konark has also received a GI (Geographical Indicator) tag. No traveller to Odisha will probably leave the state without picking up at least one miniature stone replica of the famous wheels of the Konark Sun Temple. Craftspersons use both weather-resistant hard and soft stones like khadipathara, kochilapathara, pinkish khandolite, sahanapathara or baulapathara and black granite and muguni pathara for carving the mostly decorative works that they do today.

Where To Buy&nbspDriving past Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark, and Lalitagiri, it is not uncommon to find clusters of stone carvers chipping away and carefully chiselling out thin layers from stone boulders, shaping them into exquisitely carved home items, idols of the Buddha, Ganesha and Krishna, and miniatures of important shrines like Lingaraj, Mukteswar, Jagannath Puri and the Sun Temple.

Dokra

What It Is The 4,000-year-old craft, whose earliest and most well-known example is the Dancing Girl of Mohenjodaro, takes its name from the Dhokra Damar tribe. Distant relatives of the Gadabas and Gonds of the Chhota Nagpur Plateau (present-day Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh), they once roamed Central and Eastern India exchanging their wares for food and grains. With royal patronage, the artists achieved exquisite and intriguing lace-like detail in their designs. Dokra, or dhokra, is an alloy of brass, nickel and zinc. The metal gives shape to a stylised range of decorative artefacts.

Where To Buy&nbspAccording to Odisha Tourism, Kuliana in the Mayurbhanj district, Kaimati in the Keonjhar district, Sadeiberni in the Dhenkanal district and Adakata in Nayagarh district are some of the best places to see the artisans at work.

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