Patachitra of Odisha and Jagannath Culture by Anita Bose, Book Review

Patachitra of Odisha and Jagannath Culture by Anita Bose

Book Review

In every corner of India there exists numerous indigenous art forms hidden under sands of time. Search for them as desperately as a mother would be looking for her lost child. Don’t stop until you find them and showcase them for the world to see.

Swami Vivekananda to Sister Nivedita

Patachitra of Odisha and Jagannath Culture by Anita Bose

The heritage village of Raghurajpur, located near the pilgrimage of Puri, is one such numerous art centres of the country. Raghurajpur is famous for the ancient art of Patachitra.

The book Patachitra of Odisha and Jagannath Culture by Anita Bose explores the story behind the patachitras of Raghurajpur. The book is the culmination of Anita’s two decades of nurturing her creative pursuits.

Anita’s book not only deals with the details of patachitra but also provides the details of its connection with the Jagannath Culture.

The book starts with the origin of the name of heritage village of Raghurajpur and then moves on to the representation of Jagannath Culture through different forms of patachitras.

The book elaborates the chitrakar (artist) community of Raghurajpur providing the details of the artist hierarchy, which is solely based on the skill of the artist. The author goes into further details providing a correlation between the surname and the type of art work done by them. The details of the patachitra painting, which replaces the deities of the Puri Jaganath Temple for the 15 day sabbatical break every year, have been expressed in every possible details.

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Gotipua, majestic folk dance of Odisha

Gotipua

Majestic folk dance of Odisha

See also: Sterling Resort Puri FAM

Their graceful steps and flawless acrobatics held everybody in rapt attention. The surprise and charm of the movements was heightened when the audience realised that the performers were actually young boys dressed up as females.

Tejasvni Ramesh, Rediscovering Gotipua, The Hindu

Gotipua dance performance at the Sterling Resort, Puri

For centuries Gotipua dance have been performed in Odisha by young boys who are dressed up as girls to praise Lors Jagannath and Lord Krishna. It is a traditional dance form of Odisha and is considered as a precursor of classical dance of Odissi.

Puri, Beyond Temple and Beaches

A FAM (Familiarization) tour of Sterling Resort Puri

See also: Sterling Resort Puri FAM

A morning stroll on the beach followed by a visit to the Jaganath Temple. Then a dip in the sea followed by a spontaneous lunch of mach bhat (fish and rice). An afternoon nap followed by a visit to the local market for bargaining and shopping. The finally the day ends with another meal of fish and rice.

Participants of FAM Tour of Puri along with the management and staff of Sterling Resort Puri

This is a typical day for a Bengali tourist in Puri. But Puri has something much more to offer than temple and beaches. Sterling Resort Puri offers an different experience of the age old pilgrimage.

Raghurajpur, Heritage Village near Puri, Odisha

Raghurajpur

Heritage Village near Puri, Odisha

Every house in the village is a studio, which doubles up as a museum, and every villager is an artist, this is the Ragurajpur, the heritage village, located just 15km away from the popular tourist destination of Puri, in Odisha.

An artist in Raghurajpur displays a patachitra of triad deities of Puri – Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra, Raghurajpur, Odisha

Situated amid coconut groves the village of Raghurajpur has two streets lined with about 100 + identical houses, whose outer walls are covered with the most intricate frescoes and murals.