Raghurajpur, a little town in Puri area of Orissa, involves an extraordinary place in the social guide of India. Situated on the southern bank of river Bhargavi and encompassed by coconut, palm, mango, jackfruit forests and other tropical trees, this town is occupied by artisans generating sheer verse on bits of treated fabric, dried palm leaf or paper. In here, every villager is a craftsman and each house is an artist’s studio. The town has two lanes with in excess of 120 houses, most beautified with painting artworks, where the painters live and polish their pattachitra paintings.
Pattachitra painting created by Raghurajpur villagers goes backto 5 BC. The pattachitra compositions are made over a bit of material known as Patta or a dried palm leaf, which is initially painted with a mixture of chalk and gum. Over the arranged surface, beautiful and unpredictable pictures of different Gods, Goddesses, and fanciful scenes with ornamentation of blossoms, trees and creatures are then painted. Besides that the town is additionally home to artworks like Tussar paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone and wood carvings, wooden, cowdung and papier mache toys, and covers.
The legislature of India has chosen Raghurajpur town for the advancement or country tourism in the nation as a piece of a system to highlight tourism potential of towns. United Nations Development Program (UNDP) takes a dynamic part in this activity as a major aspect of its Endogenous Tourism Project (ETP).
Though these art works are highly demanded by art lovers, the middlemen who sells these works, buys them from the villagers for cheap rates (Rs. 5000/ to Rs. 6000/-) per piece and sells it to the consumers directly at a price nearly 10 times the original price. “They sell our works to the consumers for Rs.30, 000 – Rs.60,000/- and buy from us at very cheap rate”, says one of the villagers of Raghurajpur. The presence of middlemen in this sector not only eats up into the life of these village artists but also threatens the existence of such a pure traditional art form. Art is to be respected and these villagers deserves right price for their work.
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