Orissa Handicrafts
Folk Painting & Palm Leaf Engraving
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.
