Raghurajpur, a small village in Puri district, occupies a unique place in the cultural map of India. The village is inhabited by artisans producing sheer poetry on pieces of treated cloth, dried palm leaf or paper. Situated on the southern bank of river Bhargavi and surrounded by coconut, palm, mango, jackfruit groves and other tropical trees, Raghurajpur has an idyllic setting. A number of betel vines dot the nearby paddy fields. The village runs from east to west with houses arranged in two neat rows, facing each other. At the centre, runs a line of small temples and the lone Bhagabat Tungi, the community meeting place of the villagers. The temples are dedicated to the lords, Radha Mohan, Gopinath, Raghunath, Laxminarayan, Gouranga, and to the village goddess, Bhuasuni.

To reach Raghurajpur one has to get down at Chandanpur bus stop, which is about 10 km from Puri and 50 km from Bhubaneswar on N.H.No.203 connecting Puri and Bhubaneswar, two important tourist destinations of the country. From Chandanpur one has to take a cycle-rickshaw or walk on a 1.3 km scenic road to reach this village. One may also hire a taxi either from Puri or from Bhubaneswar to reach the village.

This coconut-palm shaded village is quite different from other villages of the State. It has its own identity. What is unusual is the number of outsiders including foreigners visiting the village round the year. These people don't come here to see a typical Orissan village from close quarters but to see and enjoy the rich traditions of Orissan arts and crafts at one place. The village has a community of artisans, who produce different varieties of handicrafts items such as patta paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone carvings, papier mache toys and masks, wood carvings, wooden toys, cowdung toys and tusser paintings. Perhaps nowhere else in India one finds such a congregation of so many arts at one place. This is also the only village in India, where each family is engaged in one craft or another. Some of them are winners of National Awards. One comes across the best tradition of Orissan paintings and some of the finest pieces of work in this village.

The tradition of pata painting in Orissa is very old. There are several centres of this art : Puri, Parlakhemundi, Champamal (Sonepur), Athgarh and Dinabandhupur (Dhenkanal). Usually, the lane in which these painters or chitrakaras live is called Chitrakar Sahi. Although there are several centres of pata paintings in Orissa, it is Raghurajpur, which is famous for this unique art.

The paintings are done on specially prepared cotton cloth, which is coated with a mixture of gum and chalk and polished, before applying natural colours.The process begins with creating a canvas, or the surface on which the painting is to be executed. A gummy paste of boiled tamarind seeds and soft granite powder is plastered on a stretched piece of cloth, twice over, so that it becomes stone hard and does not crack. Once dry, the bare outlines of the painting are sketched with charcoal or limestone (chalk) by a master painter. This is usually done free-hand and from memory, though decorative motifs like borders and certain geometric forms are copied from pre-cut stencils in order to save time. So the soot of oil lamps serves for black and diluted lime for white. The leaves of plants, flower petals, fruits (like mango, for yellow), ground rocks and even the urine of domesticated animals contribute to the production of a variety of shades and hues. But now a days of mass production the artists are using stencils, chemical-based dyes and paints. The paintings are polished and mounted before sale.

Chitrakaras are involved with the ritual performed in the temple of Lord Jagannath on the occasion of Snana Purnima in the lunar month of Jyestha (May-June). During the period of anasara, the fortnight following the fullmoon day, three patis painted by chitrakaras are placed on the sighasana inside the main temple. The chitrakaras are also called to execute colourful paintings on the three chariots for the car festival. Chitrakaras are involved with the ritual performed in the temple of Lord Jagannath on the occasion of Snana Purnima in the lunar month of Jyestha (May-June). During the period of anasara, the fortnight following the fullmoon day, three patis painted by chitrakaras are placed on the sighasana inside the main temple. The chitrakaras are also called to execute colourful paintings on the three chariots for the Car Festival.

-: Palm Leaf Engraving :-

INTACH selected this village to revive the ancient wall paintings of Orissa. To give this village its rightful place both in the cultural and tourist maps of the country, Orissa Tourism and Ministry of Tourism, Government of India have identified this village for development of Rural Tourism.