Exploring Raghurajpur, The Heritage Art Village Near Puri

Where Is Raghurajpur? 

Welcome to the heritage art village of Raghurajpur! Located only 14 km away from the sea beach and Hindu pilgrimage town of Puri and about 44 km from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Konark, Raghurajpur is famous for its unique tradition of art and culture. The village is on the southern banks of the Bhargavi River and can be reached easily via car from Puri.

History Of Raghurajpur

The village of Raghurajpur traditionally served as a home of artisans and dancers of Orissa. In 1998, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) stated a two-year research and documentation project which ended up in Raghurajpur being chosen as Orissa’s first heritage village. It was soon developed into a Crafts village with an interpretation center. The villagers could now sell their own art and craftswork from their homes to visitors interested in the fine collection.

Raghurajpur also enjoys the privilege of being the only place in the state to deliver the traditional patas to be used under the throne of the Lord Jagannath and the three chariots during the annual Rath Yatra festival in Puri. Today, the village also hosts the Basant Utsav - Parampara Raghurajpur, a spring festival commissioned by the state government to attract tourists to the heritage village. 

Why Is Raghurajpur So Famous?

Raghurajpur is well-known for being the home of some of Orissa’s master Pattachitra painters. The village also houses the Gotipua dance troupes who practice an ancient dance form that gave birth to Odissi, a famous Indian classical dance form. The village is also the birthplace of  Kelucharan Mohapatra, a renowned Odissi dance master and Guru. Several traditional craft forms like palm leaf engravings, Tussar paintings, masks, wood carvings, papier mache toys, etc., are also created here in the homes of the artisans living in Raghurajpur.

What Is The Pattachitra Style Of Painting?

This is a unique art form where a piece of cloth (Patta) or dried palm leaf serves as the base for painting instead of paper. The cloth is first pained with a gum and chalk mixture. Once prepared, colorful pictures with intricate designs are painted on the cloth or palm leaf base. The paintings usually represent Hindu Gods, Goddesses, and mythological scenes and are heavily ornamented with trees, animals, flowers, and other decorations. 

Things To See And Do At Raghurajpur

Tourists with passion for art and craft and creativity will love visiting the village of Raghurajpur. Once there, villagers are always ready at their traditionally decorated gates to welcome you into their home to see their work and buy them if you are interested in them. The villagers are polite and nice and do not pester you to buy their goods. So, do not be afraid to step into their home-exhibition grounds to have a look at their beautiful and vibrant works of art and craft. 

The main village of Raghurajpur is situated amidst groves of mango, jack-fruit, coconut, and palm. Over 120 well-decorated houses exist here. Many of these houses are inhabited by pattachitra painters and you can actually see them at work here. You can learn about this unique art and craft form from the artists themselves. Prices vary greatly depending on the intricacy of work and quality of paintings. However, prices are quite reasonable for the work you are getting.

Several temples are also located in the villaged dedicated to the local deity Bhuasuni as well as other Hindu Gods and Goddesses like Laxminarayan,  Gouranga, Radha Mohan, and others.

Recommendations And Tips

How To Reach Raghurajpur?

From Puri, one needs to take the Bhubaneswar road and upon reaching Chandanpur Bazaar, one needs to take a right turn to reach Raghurajpur, about 1.5 km away.

AC Car fare from Puri to Raghurajpur and back is about Rs. 1,200/- and it takes a ride of about 40 minutes to reach the destination. 

Recommended Stores

We went to a number of Raghurajpur home-shops where the artists proudly displayed their work. It was a fascinating experience indeed. It is difficult to say whose work is best, but we liked the paintings of the following village store:

Senapati Painting Centre

Contact No: 09937157738

e-mail: senapatipaintingcenter@gmail.com

Palmleaf carving, pattachitra, tasser painting, papermask.

As for wall-hanging masks, I found this store selling the ones to my liking:

Kamarupa Handicraft

Contact No: 9778177248

Both the stores are located side by side.

Also, remember to bargain a little before purchasing a work of art.