-: Orissa Art & Culture :-

Come with The Dove on a journey to the fascinating state of Orissa -Land of Myths & Legends, Exotic and Unexplored, washed by the depth of the Bay of Bengal, cradled by the Eastern Ghats. See the land of an exciting blend of aesthetics and religion.Witness rural craftsmen and artists carving traditional stone and wood sculptures, etching palm leaves with intricate sacred designs, painting elaborate canvaces with scenes from the ancient Indian epics.

See artisans hammering brass vessles or casting images in bronze, potters making eggshell-thin vessels, or sculpting figurines in clay.Meet the real people of Orissa and savour their hospitality; even eat a delicious meal prepared carefully and safely in a traditional home.

Learn about the thoughts, beliefs and hopes of the people. Visit their shrines and temples and experience their rituals and ceremonies . Complement your village adventures with the tours of the beautiful monuments and the temples of Puri, Bhubaneswar and Konark

This triangle contains some of India's most beautiful temples ranging from monolithic cave temples of 2nd century BC to carved fantasies in stone of Bhubaneswar and Puri (7th -13th century temples).See the sun temple of Konark and its famous erotic sculptures. This World Heritage Site was built in the 13th century, in the golden era of Orissan art

From the temple itself we can trace the emergence of Orissan history and sculpture. Every exquisite sculpture here has its own meaning.Come to the city of temples, Bhubaneswar where as many as 1000 temples existed at one point of time .

Many of these are still intact and they record the Kalinga Style of architecture from inception to maturity. Visit the Santi Stupa - the hallowed site of the famous Kalinga war which once turned the river Daya, red with the blood of Oriya soldiers and finally made the emperor Ashoka embrace BudhismFind the Ashokan rock edicts immortalizing the historical events. Also find the Jain monasteries on the twin caves of Khandagiri and Udayagiri. Puri, the spiritual capital of Orissa,revolves around the daily life Lord Jagannath -Literally, " The Lord of the Universe". Spirituality here is tangible - palpable. The Car festival (Ratha Jatra) in June/July provides first hand experience of the rapture involved in the Jagannath cult. Let the DOVE make your Orissa tour a lifetime experience

ART , CRAFT AND HANDLOOMS OF ORISSA

Silver Filigree :

Orissa has a distinction for its exquisite silver filigree work known as Tarakasi in oriya language. The city of Cuttack is famous for it and is called as the silver city. It is an intricate process being specialised by artisans of the trade. Silver is melted in a mould and poured into a narrow tray, beaten on an anvil and elongated into a tar or hairlike wire by passing it through a steel plate wire gauge. Then the two thin wires are welded together, pressed and flattened till they look like one wire . Then it is bent to various shapes by artisan's nimble fingers. Flower , leaf, wheel, chariot , horses , birds, boxes, trays and different ornaments are made by silver filigree which attracts the attention of customers.

Brass and Bell Metal ware :

In very Oriya household one would find the artistry of brass and bell metal ware being used in daily life. Drawing room articles, kitchen ware, temple articles are fine examples of this orissan atr. Balakati, Belaguntha, Bhuban and Kantilo are famous for bellmetal craftsmen and their extraordinary craftsmanship. Dhokra metal ware is another beautiful craft of orissa's people. It is a tribal art form of Dhenkanal;Alloy, brass or zinc is melted on a clay model and threading is done by the waxing process. when thread is removed it leaves an indelible pattern in metal. Images of animals, birds and traditional variety dominate in this art form.

Stone and Wood Carving (Ivory) :

Stone carving is an age old craft of orissa. The carved products include replicas of temples, images of gods and goddesses, the konark wheel and horse, decorative figures like Alas Kanya, Salabhanjika or a lady leaning against a sal branch, Surasundari or heavenly beauty, Lekhika or lady writing a letter etc. are popular items of household decoration. Wood carvings of orissa are almost equally popular. They have a district orissan style which is different from products of other states.

Pattachitra :

The miniature paintings pattachitra are now used as wall hangings. The pattachitra are paintings on cloth. Small strips of cloth are prepared for painting by coating of a mixture of glue and chalk which results in a leathery finish. The outlines are then drawn directly in red and yellow. Then other colours are painted. The patta is given a lacquer coating to protect it from climatic effects. For the process of varnishing and glazing, the back of the painting is exposed to heat while a fine layer of lacquer is brushed on the painting itself . In Orissa even today the chitrakaras or painters use vegetable and mineral colours and brush that is used for painting is also totally domestic or manmade.

The subject matter of patta paintings is limited to religious themes. The traditional art of painting was practised by the Mahapatra or the Maharana caste people. Near puri the pattachitra artists mostly live in the village raghurajpur popularly known as craft village.Now a days the painters cater to the demand of tourists and local customers.

Jhoti, Chita, Muruja :

Orissa's folkart is connected with its social and religious activities. In the month of Margasira Oriya housewives worship goddess Laxmi on every Thursday. This is the paddy harvesting season. Farmers thrash out the gains and store in house. Housewives prepare pithas by white rice paste and decorate the mud walls and floors of their houses. They are called Jhoti or Chita in Oriya. This attempt is not merely decoration of the house but to establish a relationship between the mystical the material. So these murals in white rice paste are meaningful. On different occasions the Jhoti or Chita is drawn. Muruja is prepared powder from different hues and different methods are used to get coloured powders. In the holy month of Kartika (November) women draw Muruja designs near Chaura (bearing tulsi or basil plant in their courtyard) .

Applique Art :

This art is perfected by the artisans of pipili, a place on the way to the puri and konark from Bhubaneswar. This small town only 18kms far from Bhubaneswar decorates houses in various parts of the world. This art like pattachitra is originated as a temple art. Coloured cloth after being cut and shaped into forms of birds,animals, flowers, leaves and thin decorative motifs is stitched on to a piece of cloth designed as any utility item like wall hanging, lamp shade, garden or beach umbrella etc. Besides Pipili, applique work is also practiced in Chikiti, Barapali and a few other places of orissa.

Sand Art :

In golden beach of puri, one can suddeenly finds young boys and girls busy in doing something in sand and when one will move near them can find them learning a unique art form. A sculpture in sands sounds amazing but it's true. Many people are there who made different designs in sand which is known as sand Art.

Handlooms :

Orissa is a part of the great weaving belt of the country. today there are more than three lakhs handloom weavers in the state. A variety of silk, tusser and cotton and design of tribal, traditional and modern are the speciality of Orissan handloom fabrics, because of regular textile and handloom exhibition being held annually in bhubaneswar the export market of the fabrics has been widening day by day.The Orissan style is known as Bandha. It is a unique tie and dye technique.Among the notable Bandhas of Orissa the khandua or patola, the Saktapada, the Tarabali, the Bichitrapuri, the katki and the Sambalpuri are famous. The weavers of Bolangir, Boudh, Kandhamal, Tigiria are famous in the trade. The bandha ranges from simple cotton fabrics with basic pattern in the weft to sophisticated cotton and silk sarees with intricate designs in the weft or warp or both. An indigeneous mingling of silk and cotton, Bapta is in demand in the market. The weavers cater to the local needs for personal use and use in temples. A rare silk fabric from Nuapatan in Cuttack district bearing inscriptions from the Gita Govinda is used to dress the idols of jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra in Jagannath temple even today. Now-a -days Sambalpuri handloom sarees are found to be very popular among the tourists. Most of orissa's handloom products are made in small family workshops. Certain weaver communities like Bhulias, Kostas, Gaudias or Asani patras make a living out of handlooms. Padmashri Krutartha Acharya was son of one such Sambalpuri family. He had organized the weaver community and tried successfully to popularize the Sambalpuri sarees in the world. in case of Handloom, Orissa is also famous for Bichitrapuri, Nabarangi and pasapalli sarees of sonpur, Barpali and Baunshri, Bedsheets of Barapali and Chichinda, Maniabandhi pata of Nuapatna and Maniabandha, Silk Sarees of Berhampur and Nuapatna and Mankidia, Fine Dhotis of Chandanpur, Design bedsheets of Nilagiri.

Orissa has also handicrafts items as paddy Craft of Keonjhar, Lacquer ware of Nabrangpur, Artistic mat of Jaleswar, Bhograi, and Baripada, Wooden painted toys of Puri, Palm-leaf Etching of puri, Clay toys of Sonapur, Solapith work of Puri, Papier Mache work of puri, jari work of Cuttack, Jaikhadi work of paralakhemundi, Cloth flower garland work of Tusra and Keonjhar, Theatreical dress making of cuttack, Artistic foot wear of puri, Keora leaf work Raghurajpur, Musical instrument preparation work of Cuttack , Carpets of Sankhamari and Chandragiri, Tassa paintings of puri and Raghunathpur, banana fibre works of Cuttack, Betel-nut work of Aska, feather work of Baripada and above all the sea-shell worksat Puri and Gopalpur.