Raghurajpur, an emblem of heritage arts and crafts of Odisha!!!

About fifteen km from the revered city of Lord Jagannath, Puri, there is a tiny little hamlet Raghurajpur, nestled on the southern bank of river Bhargavi in the rural heartland of Odisha. Amidst the coconut, palm, and mango groves, this quiet village is a treasure trove for some of the finest heritage art forms of the state. 

Raghurajpur comprises about 130 houses that also function as live workshops divided almost equally on each side, facing each other. There are temples of the local deities in the centre of the village with platforms that provide places for religious celebrations and socializing. 

 

 

Raghurajpur was once known as the keepers of Odisha’s ancient Pattachitra art, mainly due to the late Sri. Jagannath Mohapatra (winner of the President of India’s award in 1965) and many artists trained under his guidance. It is fascinating how each household is exclusively involved with some traditional art form or craft, and many are skilled artists! 

Most houses in the village practice the famous heritage art of Odisha, Pattachitra, Tala Pattachitra, (palm leaf engraving), wood carving, stone carving, toys from cow dung, and papier mâché and a few also make Gangifa. These ancient art forms are passed through generations and are said to have been born out of association with the rituals at the Lord Jagganath temple, Odisha's presiding deity. 

Apart from keeping the traditional art forms of Pattachitra and Tala Pattachira alive, the village has also produced some of the finest classical dancers of Gotipua and Odissi, like Sri. Kelucharan Mohapatra. 

The moment one enters the village, one is warmly greeted by the artists and invited to visit their homes. Their tiny homes are a visual treat for art and craft lovers! The entrances, doors, and walls of the houses of Raghurajpur are nothing less than art galleries. The entire village adorns beautiful, intricate paintings that depict stories from Hindu mythology, local deities, flora and fauna of the land, and folktales. Raghurajpur has a fascinating tradition of announcing a wedding in the family by writing the names of a bride and groom on the entrance with some traditional designs.  

One needs to take a languid walk in the village to get a glimpse of the life of artists/craftspeople. The experience is enthralling, as each house has such interesting frescos and art collections that one is overwhelmed with choices. Most villagers are friendly and willing to share their experiences and artistic process, an eye-opening and a great learning experience for the uninitiated. 

Raghurajpur has many National, State, and other prestigious awardees and is trying to change with time while firmly rooted in traditional ways of life and art practices.  

 

In the year 2000, the traditional art hub of Raghurajpur village was declared a Heritage Village by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Since then, it became more visible on the national and international stage. 

How to go :

Nearest airport/Railway station/ Road  : Bhuvaneshwar , capital of Odisha, about 50 kms from Raghurajpur. Well connected to all the cities of India 

The toy story: fading art of Channapatna toys of Karnataka

Between the bustling cities of Bangalore and Mysore, in the Ramanagara district nestles a small town, "Gombegala Nagara" or "Gombegala Ooru" meaning; a land of toys. The name may not ring the bell for some, but most of us would have seen the colorful, handmade lacquer wooden toys; the reason for which the town derived its name and is famous for the world over. 

This charming little town of Channapatna is the birthplace of a more than 200-year-old tradition of the environment-friendly, precious craft of Channapatna toy making.   The beauty of Channapatna toys lies in being lightweight yet strong, their colors, simplicity of the form, smooth texture, curved contours, the inherent nature of "learn with fun" concepts, and exquisite craftsmanship. 

The moment one enters Gombegala town, one can't help noticing charming little toy-making units confined within homes. Channapatna toy-making craft has a rich history that goes back centuries. The most alluring part of this craft is that it is a small-scale industry that involves generations of knowledge, unique skill sets, and special techniques. The Channapatana toys have made a distinct mark in international markets and enjoy protection under Geographical Indication (GI). 

 

The process of making Channapatna toys: 

The Channapatna toy-making process is time and labor-intensive work. These days the toys are made with woods like sycamore, cedar, pine, teak, and rubber albeit, the soft ivory wood remains the preferred material for the toys. This handcrafted toy-making process is elaborate and takes months from start to finish. It involves seasoning (which usually takes two or three months), cutting, carving (on a lathe, buffed with sandpaper or cactus leaf to obtain a smooth finish), and applying lacquer/color. The artisans use vegetable dyes on the toys to ensure they are safe for use by the children. Artisans of both manual and mechanical units make non-toxic, non-chemical environment-friendly colors.

The artisans and entrepreneurs associated with the Channapatna toys craft feel the need for the town to be recognized for its woodcraft and not just wooden toys. According to them, the history of Channapatna dates back to time immemorial! Channapatna was known for a range of wooden artifacts. Things for everyday use enjoyed a place of pride among the elite class. The wooden walking sticks with elegant handles and the umbrellas with curved handles were considered a symbol of prestige and royalty. 

For the last few years, the Channapatna toy-making industry has suffered heavily. With the advent of technology and markets, flooding with cheap, machine-made Chinese toy options, demand for this craft went on a steady decline, affecting the artisans depending solely on this craft. There were about 20,000 artisans involved with this craft two decades back. But with the slump in demand, most artisans left the industry and took up other employment options for survival. 

Another crucial aspect affecting this industry is better employment options in the nearby cities. Being situated near two major cities of the state, artisans easily find better opportunities with better earnings. They are unwilling to take any chances by sticking to the craft that can’t guarantee their safe future. Hence the young generation of craftsmen families loathes entering this industry owing to its dwindling fate. 

  

While a few enterprising entrepreneur-manufacturers are working towards withstanding competition and reviving the export market, banking on superior quality, safe construction, and material, there is a need for greater support from the state and central government. The craftsmen are also trying to adapt to the market trends by making artifacts and jewelry catering to contemporary demands. 

Many traditional crafts have suffered due to a lack of support and viability. If we don't understand the value of this beautiful craft and encourage it, there is a danger of the art form becoming extinct like so many others that we have already lost. 

 

*The photographs in the article are taken from Google and not mine. 

 

 

The dying art of Ganjifa cards painting !

Every time I visit Bhau Daji lad Museum or Prince of Wales museum in Bombay, I am invariably drawn to the section where intricately painted Ganjifa cards are displayed! 

Card games have been popular all over the world since ancient times. Each country had its own cards, designed and styled that reflected its local art and culture.  In India, the artistic creations of Ganjifa were supported by erstwhile princely states that patronized the art and the artists. The etymology and origins of word "ganjifa" remain obscure. Some scholars believe it derives its name from the Persian word "Ganjifeh" which means playing cards. In India, these cards were known as "Kreeda Patra" (“kreeda” meaning game or sport and “patra” meaning leaf or page in Sanskrit). 

Traditionally, Gangifas are handmade, circular playing cards with miniature style of paintings on various materials like ivory enamelled in gold and silver, sandalwood, lac wafers, tortoise shell, mother of pearls, textile fabric, palm leaves and waste paper. Although there were some Ganjifa cards that were found in rectangle shape too. The cards are painted by natural dyes derived from rich minerals and vegetable dyes with wide range and saturations. The artists have to mix and grind these natural colours to get suitable outcome for his work and use squirrel hair brush for achieving finer lines and intricate techniques of the art form. The process of Ganjifa card making is very lengthy and needs immense patience and specialized skills. Each card is an intricate visual portrayal of a story narrated in specific colours and symbols from the place of its origin.  

The ancient game of Ganjifa is believed to be as old as human existence. The origin of cards is traced to Persia, China and Arabian countries. In India, the game of Ganjifa was introduced through Moghul Emperors/Sufi saints during Mughal period in sixteenth century. With the advent of handmade paper, the indoor game of Ganjifa that involved playing for stakes converted into a great recreational escape for the Mughal Badshas, nobles and aristocrats alike. 

As Ganjifa evolved with time becoming a brilliant exercise for brain, interesting entertainment tool and an awe-inspiring art and artefact, it gradually spread across different regions and reached common people on the street. After the game was established everywhere in its original form known as Mughal Ganjifa, many variations started emerging.

The first variation started with Hindu form of Ganjifa cards; ten suits of twelve cards each, known as Dashavatara Ganjifa. Soon, each region of the country innovated and developed its own style of Ganjifa keeping in mind specific cultural and stylistic art/craft practices of the place, adding immense cultural and social value and interesting perspectives to the game of Ganjifa cards. Some popular Ganjifa card styles prevalent till about a few decades back were known as Sawantwadi Ganjifa from Maharashtra, Navadurga Ganjifa from Orrisa, Rajasthan and Gujrat Ganjifa, Kashmir Ganjifa, Nepal Ganjifa and the Mysooru Ganjifa that enjoyed great patronage from the Wodeyars from Mysore Royal family during their reign. 

The colour and iconography changed with each province developing its own unique version of the game. The Moghul Ganjifa cards usually portrayed animals, birds, wrestlers, acrobats, swordsmen, soldiers, hunters, musicians. As it spread to other regions, the colour and iconography changed to devotional themes. The main aim of Ganjifa shifted from mere recreation to teach and tell the stories from the ancient scriptures and holy books that were thus far following only oral traditions. The expression also changed depending on variety of themes creating great range in novelty. Different styles were created for telling stories/meaning of shlokas from the Hindu Puranas, Ramayana, the chapters from Mahabharata and many more scriptures.

With changing times, like many old traditional art forms, the Ganjifa is dying out and is on the brink; both as old game and folk art/craft form. There are some traditional, national awardees and their artisan families from Mysore, Bishnupur and Orissa trying to revive this art. It is gratifying to see them making efforts but for the technology obsessed times like today very few have time, interest or inclination to explore this pure art. Hardly anybody knows how to play complex game of Ganjifa and since it takes time to learn the craft there aren't very many takers for this game that entails exorbitant cost. The popular, easy to play 52- cards deck from western countries has ensured Ganjifa is pushed to history forever! 

There are many Indian art forms that are on the verge of extinction as they are no more commercially viable due to complete lack of patronage. What we don't realize is that with each dying art form, we lose significantly important part of our cultural identity, a big piece of our heritage that defines who we are as country/people and our journey so far. We need to think deeply and ask ourselves can we afford this loss?

Reference:

Pageant of Indian art, Festival of India in Great Britain by Dr. 

Saryu Doshi, Marg Publications

http://ignac.nic.in/n1002701htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gajifa

http://www.gounesco.com