Arts and crafts

   Odisha is a powerhouse of talent and takes great pride in its vibrant arts and crafts. Its streets, bylanes and villages throb with the constant tinkle and toil of artisans. From sculptures in its beautiful temples that are proof of its ancient mastery to wide ranging classical forms and folk or tribal techniques – Odisha has it all.

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.

Each region in Odisha has something unique to offer to the intrepid traveller. Not only do these crafts provide sustainable livelihood to marginalised craftsmen, they also keep these glorious traditions alive and provide the avid shopper with an opportunity of a lifetime!

Applique Work – Pipli chandua :

Pipli, a small village located near Puri, is where the applique serves to be a common thing found in every household, street and shop. One can witness the making process or check out the final creations crafted in the shape of umbrella or canopies in the village itself. To make it more eye catching, artisans stitch tiny mirrors on the applique designs!

Silver Filigree :

Of all the handicrafts of Odisha the most unique and the finest, in fact the queen among them, is silver filigree, locally called tarakasi. The craft is localised at Cuttack town and a few villages in Cuttack district. The process consists of drawing silver through a series of consecutively smaller holes to produce fine strands of wire.

These wires are then made into various shapes by deft hands of the craftsmen by bending them into different designs and soldering them with pincer and scissors.Silver used by the artisans is usually of high purity often exceeding ninety per cent.

Sand art-Puri :

In Orissa ,a unique type of art form is developed at Puri . But it spreads all over the world . To carve a sand sculpture , the raw material is the only clean and fine grained sand mixed with water . With the help of this type of sand and with the blessings of God and by the magic of fingures , an artist can carve a beautiful and attractive sculpture on the beach. Among few people who leave their footprints on sand, one maestro of creating gorgeous and innovative sand sculptures is Mr. Sudarshan Pattnaik. One can take a look at his extravaganza creations near the Puri sea beach!He has magic fingers, with unlimited potentials and with immense heat to create some thing new on sand. He had always a dream that he would win a prize in an international level.

Jhoti, Chita, Muruja :

Jhoti chita is a traditional Odia white art mostly shown in rural areas of Odisha. It is made from rice paste and a piece of cloth surrounded by a stick is used to create beautiful patterns. People also use their bare fingers to make jhoti chita. They can be created over walls and on floors. Murja is the dry rice powder or white stone powder that has been utilized on the floor to draw beautiful pictures.