BHUBANESWAR: Next time you visit Raghurajpur heritage crafts village in Puri district, you will be greeted by murals on the outer walls and doors of every house.
After sitting idle for months due to Covid, about 150-odd families of artisans of Raghurajpur heritage village, famous for its traditional Pattachitra painting, have embarked on this unique task of painting their houses with mythological themes.
The idea of turning the outer walls and doors of each house into canvas was executed by Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi.
“We want to encourage the artisans, who have been passing through difficult time due to Covid.
We normally organise art camps at Bhubaneswar and invite artists here.
But in view of Covid, we have taken the camp to their doorstep.
They have been asked to do murals on walls and doors of their houses,” Akademi president Sudarsan Pattnaik said.
The Akademi has decided to provide Rs 10,000 remuneration to each family.
The artists have been given five days to complete the paintings.
“We will select five best work for awards.
When the tourism sector revives after Covid, tourists will get a visual treat once they step into the village,” said Pattnaik, the celebrated sand sculptor.
The artisans are elated.
“We have been doing traditional Pattachitra and tusser paintings on specially designed canvases.
It will be a unique experience to paint our walls.
We will depict various mythological themes just as we do for Pattachitra,” said Abhiram Das, secretary of Raghurajpur village committee.
Each of the 150 houses at Raghurajpur has at least four artisans who are skilled in Pattachitra and tusser paintings, toy making, paper mache masks, palm leaf engravings and stone and wood carvings.
The crafts village attracts a large number of tourists, mostly foreigners, every year.
However, the footfall has drastically fallen in the wake of Covid pandemic last year.
“Our livelihood has been adversely affected owing to Covid.
Since Covid has dealt a blow to tourism industry, tourists are unable to visit our village.
Many of our paintings and products have remained unsold,” said Laxmidhar Subudhi, president of the village committee.