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Folk Painting & Palm Leaf Engraving

"Medium Eternal"

A painter is a man for posterity. The painters of Orissa did not confine their bourgeoning talents to common media of expression. They diversified into patachitras on cloth and illustrations for palm leaf manuscripts. The result is a rich reservoir of art forms.

The folk paintings known as 'Pata chitras' (Canvas-picture) make lovely wall hangings which hand once been a source of education for the rural folk. The 'Patas' usually have mythological themes - from Mahabharata, Ramayana and legends concerning Radha - Krishna and Lord Jagannath. The canvas prepared by an indigenous method produces a surface of leathery quality on which the artist paints with earth and stone colours.

Masks and Toys of papier mache are made in Raghurajpur,



Puri, Jeypore (Koraput) and some other places. The masks are carved out of light wood and painted in bright colours by artisans in Puri, Khurda, Narasinghpur etc. These masks are used by folk opera groups - who dramatise plays based on epics and puranas.

The folk toys with detachable limbs - nodding tigers and elephants or men and women with comic expressions, masks of popular mythological characters make beautiful wall hangings.

The ancient craft of palm leaf illustrations, though limited to a few craftsmen, present delicate and thoughtful mythological figures often joined together to depict stories from the scriptures. Romantic figures drawn on small leaves now serve as bookmarks and greeting cards.



Places to Visit
Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Konark

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