Raghurajpur, Murals on the Walls of Every House of the Artisan Village

Bhubaneswar: With a hope to see good footfall of tourists when the covid unlock would begin, the artisans of Raghurajpur heritage crafts village in Puri district are busy giving a facelift to their village.

The next time a tourist visits Raghurajpur, they would be welcomed with beautiful murals painted on the walls of every house of the village.

The artisan of 150 families are making murals on the walls and doors of their house as part of an art camp organised by the Department of Language, Literature and Culture in association with Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi. Each family would be paid Rs 10000, and they have to complete the work within five days from June 9-13.

Sharing about the initiative of organising an artists in the village and converting walls of the heritage village into a canvas, President of Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi , Sudarshan Patnaik said, “The artisans of the village are going through a tough phase due to the Covid pandemic. We often organise artist camps inviting selective artists, however this time we thought of organising the camp in the village itself involving all the artists.” 

“All the artisans have been asked to make murals on the walls and doors of their house. The best five would be awarded,” he said.

The artisans of Raghurajpur are known for making marvelous pattachitra paintings, tussar paintings, palm leaf engravings, cow dung toys, papier mache masks, wood carving and stone carving.  

Overwhelmed with the initiative, the artists known for their intriguing pattachitra paintings on canvas are busy depicting various mythological stories with the traditional art form on the walls.

“The pandemic has severely affected the artisans of our village. With no tourist footfall since 2020, the livelihood of the artisans has gone down. The camp has raised the enthusiasm of the artists and are hopeful that things would settle down in coming days,” shared artist Akash Swain.

Pattachitra artist Apindra Swain who was in the news last year for making beautiful pattachitra paintings representing the change in lifestyle of humans due to covid pandemic, is also busy making paintings on the walls with the help of his son. “All the artists are depicting mythological stories. I am depicting the ten incarnations of lord Vishnu on the walls of my house along with other mythological stories,” said Apindra.