Toshali Sands

Applique Work

Garments and other utility items made out of applique work (locally called as Chandua) easliy catch one’s eyes. Applique objects can be purchased at the Utkalika - State Emporium in both Bhubaneswar and Delhi, and the emporia can arrange shipment home for large items, such as the lawn umbrellas. For the smaller items, it is fun to wander in the small Pipli workshops, purchasing directly from the craftsmen or from the cooperative shop there. Pipli is the place where the applique work has originally come from….families carry out this tradition of making the canopies etc for generations.

Silver Filigree

Silver Filigree work of Orissa, locally known as Tarakashi, is a distinctive art form of great intricacy. The silver filigree workers mostly practice this art around Cuttack, and their products are sold in Cuttack shops lining Nayasarak and Balu Bazaar. Most of the artists work with an alloy of 90% or more pure silver (the western term ’sterling silver’, for comparison, designates an alloy with 92.5% silver). Most of the silver items are sold here by weight.

Wood Work

Wood sculpture, images of gods and goddesses, animals like elephants, peacocks, and horses, masks, toys, boxes and bowls, are really appealing and are samples of the excellence of the art of wood carving of Orissa. Some of the painted objects are carved; others are of turned wood. There are also fine, unpainted carvings in a pale wood, which include models of temple sculpture. The plain wood-turned items being made today include very attractive pitchers, glasses, bowls, and lamps. Wood-working is centered around Puri, Bargarh, and Cuttack.

Weaving Work

Many thousands of weavers of Orissa, clustered in small communities throughout the state, create “Ikat” fabrics that have individuality of their own and are unrivalled in the world. The term ikat reflects the fact that early trade contacts between India and Indonesia resulted in considerable cultural and artistic exchange. The technique, which is often referred to in India as ‘tie and dye’ (and in Orissa as bandha) is intricate and difficult. Bundles of yarn are first dyed by successively wrapping (tying) different sections of the bundle, and applying one colour at a time. The dye penetrates the exposed sections and does not touch the wrapped sections. The colour scheme is predetermined with extraordinary precision, so that when the dyed threads are woven together, the design appears in the finished textile as if by magic. The weavers of each region have their own distinctive style, and make different types of textiles. Weavers of Sambalpur and Sonepur make Sambalpuri silk and cotton saris, bed covers, tapestry; those from Berhampur make silk saris, gold embroidery, tassar silk; and those from Nuapatna, Maniabandh Nuapatna, Mankidia, Mayurbhanj make Cuttaki saris, silk tassar saris, and some fine cottons.

Metallic Work

The glittering bell metal has a special place in Orissan life. Often, metalsmiths are clustered in villages, such as that of Balakati, near Bhubaneswar. In these villages, you can select items directly from the artist, and often, have custom decorations added spot. The famous dhokra metal castings, an important traditional tribal craft, are made out of bronze, by the lost-wax casting method. Items made out of Dhokra work can also be found in Kuliana (Mayurbhanj), Kaimati (Keonjhar), and Sadei Bareni (Dhenkanal). Brass and bell metal work can be found at Kantilo (Puri) and Remuna (Balasore). The famous flexible fish is made at Belguntha in Ganjam district.

Painting

The contemporary professional painters of ‘pata chitra’ are primarily clustered in and around Puri. A substantial group lives in the artists’ village of Raghurajpur and Chitrakarasahi, where visitors are welcome to wander in and out of dozens of galleries and houses, buying and surveying their work. Another eminently collectible product of the chitrakaras are the painted, circular playing cards known as ganjapas. Old sets of these beautiful and charming small paintings (which traditionally were made in sets of 96 cards) are much sought after by connoisseurs, and the modern ones, executed in a vigorous folk style, are often extremely appealing.

‘Paintings’ done by the palm-leaf etching technique are formed by stringing together rows of the rectangular leaves. They can be folded into a compact pile, then opened up like a fan. Good selections of contemporary work can be found in the emporium at Bhubaneswar, but it is fun to visit the artists themselves and see them at work at Raghurajpur. Some of the etching work can also be seen in the Orissa State Museum, and the National Museum in New Delhi.

Stone Carving

From the 6th century onwards, Orissa produced a wealth of sculptural treasure in stone. The descendants of these artists can still be found in several places, including the village adjoining the Buddhist site of Lalitgiri in Cuttack district, and in Puri, Bhubaneswar, and Khiching. The Puri stone-sculptors still live and work in charming painted houses on Pathuria Sahi (Stone-Carver’s Lane), utilizing their ancient skills to produce contemporary work on commission, occasionally finding a patron who wants a traditional piece, and training their sons and grandsons to follow in their footsteps. In addition to Pathuria Sahi, Puri has the very interesting Sudarshan Crafts Center, where a nationally recognized sculptor has established a gallery and an apprentice training workshop.