Village Square spends the day with a local pattachitra artist from Odisha’s famous art village, Raghurajpur, to understand more about the craft and the village that was home to three Padmashree winners.
Driving down the scenic twelve-odd kilometres from temple town Puri to its neighbouring arts village Raghurajpur, one is greeted by quaint rural scenes of children scrambling up coconut trees and old temples built on the banks of ponds.
As one nears Raghurajpur, its heritage art village status, following a two-year research and documentation project by INTACH in the year 2000, becomes more apparent. Vibrant pattachitra (an ancient art form) paintings, paper mache toys and tala-pattachitra (palm leaf engravings) are displayed outside every house as we approach the main entryway.
At the entry stands sixth-generation pattachitra artist Bamadeb Das, 42, his hands folded in a traditional welcome. “Welcome to Raghurajpur,” he says, beaming. “My village was home to three Padmashree winners, and 14 of our residents have been National Award winners,” he adds, his voice tinged with pride.
One of the Padmashree winners was the legendary Odissi dance exponent Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, who was born here.
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As we walk into the village, we notice that every house is painted with pattachitra motifs. Art is everywhere. “During the Covid pandemic, the government gave us a grant, in lieu of which all the resident artists of the village painted its premises,” says Bamadeb.
To add to the gaiety, artists hang crafts like painted teapots, betel-nut art, coloured coconuts, pattachitra paintings, palm-leaf engravings and paper mache toys and masks outside their beautifully adorned homes.
There seems to be a healthy camaraderie between Bamadeb and his neighbours, all of them pattachitra artists like himself. Bamadeb takes us into the homes of some of these artists and introduces us to them as they go about painting, teaching others their craft or just watching the world go by.
“In Raghurajpur, every household has a guru,” he says, referring to the local tradition of passing down the painstaking craft of making pattachitra and tala pattachitra art to the next generation. It’s a family legacy for each of the artists who populate this village of 800-odd people.
“Our village is as old as the Jagannath temple in Puri, which dates back to the 12th century,” estimates Bamadeb. “The art, however, dates back to the BCs,” he adds.
The pattachitra art here has another interesting link with Puri’s Jagannath temple, one that makes it imperative for the artists here to use only natural materials when creating this striking art work.
“Every year Lord Jagannath falls sick for 15 days after being given a bath, as per tradition. During this time they worship a pattachitra painting of the lord, that’s made in Raghurajpur,” explains Bamadeb about an annual custom. Because they use only natural materials for worship, the said pattachitra painting cannot be made from synthetic colours.
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This is perhaps one reason why the artists of Raghurajpur like to use natural pigments to colour their art work.
Bamadeb takes us into his tiny tenement, crammed with paintings and souvenirs. Here he lays out a mat and begins to explain how pattachitra paintings are created.
“We derive our colours from natural materials,” he says, showing us white paint made from powdering conch shells, black from the soot of a lamp, and yellow made from sulphur. Blue and red, also seen on pattachitra paintings, are also derived from natural materials.
The patta or the canvas on which we create the paintings (chitra) is made from fusing three layers of muslin sarees with gum made from tamarind seeds.
The patta or the canvas on which we create the paintings (chitra) is made from fusing three layers of muslin sarees with gum made from tamarind seeds.
Religious themes are depicted on these canvases in great detail using a brush and the natural colours.
Tala pattachitra, or palm leaf engravings, date back to more than 500 years ago, when there was no paper, and the legends needed to be preserved for posterity. To create one of these art works, artists like Bamadeb stitch together strips on dried palm leaves, and etch intricate designs of figures on them with a metal pen, filling the engravings with lamp soot.
The result is panels of detailed stories, told pictorially. These engravings can be folded and kept, or framed as art for the walls.
Bamadeb says the future of this art hangs in the balance. “I am not sure if my children will also take on the legacy of making pattachitra art for a living,” he explains, adding that it’s difficult eking out an existence on this art alone.
Despite grants from the government and support of several NGOs, some of the National Award winners too are struggling to make ends meet at Raghurajpur.
“We depend on businessmen who come and buy in bulk from us at subsidised rates, and sell our work for a profit,” says Bamadeb. “It is difficult to survive on those earnings alone. I cannot even think of buying land with my earnings,” he laments.
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And this ends our interaction with the humble Bamadeb, yet another unsung artist from a world-famous village that supplies exquisite art across the globe, but with little hope for the future as many artists are on the brink of penury.
Is tradition, and Raghurajpur’s fame as a heritage artist’s village enough to keep the art here alive? Only time can tell if the sustainable art legacy of this village will continue to thrive.
The lead image on top depicts the colourful entryway of Odia artists’ village Raghurajpur. (Photo by Smriti Mukerji)
Smriti Mukerji is a freelance journalist based out of New Delhi.
