Raghurajpur
Encyclopedia
Puri District
Puri being a coastal district of Orissa, is famous for its Historic antiquities, Religious sanctuaries, Architectural Grandeur, Sea-scape beauty,moderate climate.It holds a wealth of attraction for the visitors. It boasts of a continuous history from the 3rd Century B.C...
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, known for its master Pattachitra
Pattachitra
Pattachitra is a traditional painting of Orissa, India.These Paintings are based on Hindu Mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava cult. All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made fully old traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter....
painters, an art form which dates back to 5 BC. in the region and Gotipua dance troupes, the precursor to the Indian classical dance form of Odissi
Odissi
Odissi, also spelled Orissi , is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Orissa, in eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya Shastra, refers to it as...
; it also known as the birthplace of one of finest Odissi exponents and Guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra
Kelucharan Mohapatra
Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was an Indian classical dancer, guru and proponent of Odissi dance, who is credited for the revival of the classical dance form in the 20th century....
. Apart from that the village is also home to crafts like Tussar paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone and wood carvings, wooden, cowdung and papier mache toys, and masks.
In 2000, after a two-year research and documentation project by INTACH, starting 1998, the village was chosen to be developed as state's first heritage village and developed as a Crafts village, soon the village had an interpretation centre, commissioned artwork on the walls of the artists’ homes and a rest house.
It also has the distinction of the only place where the traditional decoration called Patas, used under the throne of Lord Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
and on the three chariots during the annual Rath Yatra
Rath Yatra
Ratha Yatra is a huge Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July. Most of the city's society is based around the worship of Jagannath with the ancient temple being the fulcrum of the area...
festival, that takes place at pilgrimage town of Puri
Puri
Puri is district headquarter, a city situated about south of state capital Bhubaneswar, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the Jagannath Temple . It is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages...
, some 14 km away, known for the Jagannath Temple
Jagannath Temple
-India:*Jagannath Temple, Puri, Orissa, India*Jagannath Temple, Koraput, Orissa, India*Jagannath Temple, Baripada, Mayurbhanj, Orissa, India*Jagannath Temple, Nayagarh, Orissa, India*Jagannath Temple, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India*Jagannath Temple, Delhi, India...
.
Overview
Situated amidst groves of coconut, palm, mango and jack fruit, the main village has two streets with over 120 houses, most decorated with mural paintings, where the painters reside and practice their pattachitra craft, besides many other that practices throughout the village, including traditional masks, stone idols, papier mache, sculptures, wooden toys. The village also a series of temples dedicated not only to Bhuasuni, the local deity but also to various HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
gods including, Radha Mohan, Gopinath, Raghunath, Laxminarayan and Gouranga
Gouranga
Gauranga is a term popularized by the Hare Krishna movement in the 1970s.It is derived from Sanskrit "having a white or yellowish body", a bahuvrihi compound from "white, yellowish, reddish" and "limb, member; the body"....
.
Around, 2000 it was developed as a heritage village by INTACH, and soon became a major rural tourist destination of the state, drawing tourist, both domestic and foreign to the village. Villagers were also trained to provide heritage walks to the visitors by the organisation, and has since become a template for heritage tourism in the region
Today it is also the venue of the annual Basant Utsav - Parampara Raghurajpur (Spring Festival), which was first organized in 1993 under the aegis of State Tourism Department and astern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata, held in the month of February/March and an important tourist draw.
Pattachitra
The pattachitraPattachitra
Pattachitra is a traditional painting of Orissa, India.These Paintings are based on Hindu Mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava cult. All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made fully old traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter....
paintings are made over a piece of cloth known as Patta or a dried palm leaf, which is first painted with a mixture of chalk and gum. Over the prepared surface, colorful and intricate pictures of various Gods, Goddesses, and mythological scenes with ornamentation of flowers, trees and animals are then painted. The paintings on Tussar saris, especially the Sambalpuri Saree
Sambalpuri Saree
Sambalpuri Saree , is a traditional handwoven Ikkat sari or saree wherein the warp and the weft are tie-dyed before weaving. It is produced in the Bargarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur and nearby districts of Orissa...
depicting Mathura Vijay, Raslila and Ayodhya Vijay owe their origin to ‘Raghurajpur Pattachitra
Pattachitra
Pattachitra is a traditional painting of Orissa, India.These Paintings are based on Hindu Mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava cult. All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made fully old traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter....
paintings’.
Location
It is situated 14 km away from Hindu pilgrimage town of PuriPuri
Puri is district headquarter, a city situated about south of state capital Bhubaneswar, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the Jagannath Temple . It is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages...
, on the southern banks of river Bhargabi (Bhargavi). Visitors from Puri take the Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
road, near Chandanpur, on NH 203, and upon reaching the Chandanpur Bazaar, they can take a right turn to reach Raghurajpur. The village is then around 1.5 km from Chandanpur.
External links
- Raghurajpur Crafts village Orissa Review, Government of OrissaGovernment of OrissaThe Government of Orissa also known as the State Government of Orissa, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Orissa and its 30 districts...
, November 2004. - Raghurajpur Crafts village Rural tourism, Govt. of India
- Myths on a cloth at Mint (newspaper)Mint (newspaper)Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news publication aimed at decision makers and policy makers of the country and it is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner...