“As the rays of the sun begin to skim over the river Bhargavi, the women of Raghurajpur wake up and worship their family gods. Preparation of the day’s meal is quickly followed by preparation of natural paints to stock the studio for the day. As children rush out of the front door for school, men set about preparing their ‘patti’ (traditional canvas).” (Mishra, 2016)
The above lines beautifully describe the culture of the heritage craft village ‘Raghurajpur’ by architect Soumyendu Shankar Ray in his book ‘Odisha: The Architecture Odyssey’.
Raghurajpur, home to flawless craftsmanship, is located 12 km from Puri, on the bank of the river Bhargavi, surrounded by coconut palms, mango, and jackfruit groves. The village previously had 130-140 dwelling units in a row but in recent years, the number has increased where every person is a chitraka (artisan) and engages in many art forms like Pattachitra paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone carving, paper mache, mask making, toy painting. Apart from crafts, the villagers are also involved in classical dance forms like Odissi and Gotipua.
Chronicles of Raghurajpur
This Heritage Craft Village is famous for its Pattachitra art and renowned Odissi dancer Kelucharan Mahapatra. Pattachitra evolved from two Sanskrit words: Patta (cloth) and Chitra (painting). During the 5th century BC, palm leaves were used to document events.
The artisans of this village still preserve palm leaves art as a cultural heritage and pass it down to the families of craftsmen of this village. According to some locals, King Narasingh Deva-I of the Eastern dynasty established Raghurajpur around the 13th century. During this period, art and architecture flourished throughout this period. According to local legend, Sabarpali is a small village where Lord Rama spent a short period during his fourteen-year exile. In the honor of Lord Rama, the place was named ‘Raghurajpur’ after his advent.
‘In 2000, the village was developed as a heritage village by INTACH.’ (traveler, 2022) Raghurajpur is included in the crafts village.
Architecture and Urban Fabric
A central east-west axis made up of a series of temples, art studios, a community hall, and a dance school. The village is set in a linear structure in the east-west direction with two rows of houses facing each other. Each temple you see on the above map is facing towards the east and built at different times by the villagers. While entering the village, there is a guardian deity, Bhausuni.
Raghurajpur village has a population of over 130 households and 311 artisans. The style of architecture is the vernacular style of architecture, reflecting cultural identity and historical legacy. Most traditional homes blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings due to their sloping thatched roofs and earth tones. Some structures are constructed with laterite stones, which is both a local material and a sustainable material.
Since every dwelling opens directly into the central spine, the main streets get occupied with various activities throughout the day, from domestic to entertainment, religious to ritualistic. Most houses in Raghurajpur are adjacent houses that share a common wall and often a continuous roof.
In Raghurajpur, houses have historically served as centers of religion and production.Every residential unit has a veranda that leads to a store, a workshop, or a living area.Cooking and dining activities majorly take place in the courtyard of the house, which is in the center of the dwelling unit. Activities related to cleaning and sanitation are considered impure. Therefore, the utility space and toilet are located in the backyard of the dwelling unit, detached from the main house.
Over time, the built form of the dwelling units has evolved. The influence of family development over time has caused the house to be separated, with new sections such as each with a street frontage. It resulted in vertical and longitudinal growth of built form. Depending on the financial constraints, the owners replace the usage of mud and stones in damaged homes with steel, RCC, and bricks.
Raghurajpur’s Iconic Wall
What sets Raghurajpur apart is its role as a living museum of Odisha’s artistic traditions. It’s like being in an outdoor museum when you visit the village. The wall of the dwelling units is covered with vibrant murals and intricate sculptures. The front of the house is the most used space throughout the day, as it is mostly used for working and relaxing activities. Even today most of the chitrakars can be seen working on the verandas.
Making a canvas for the wall is the first step in painting it. The artist uses six primary colors: white, black, green, brown, red, blue, and yellow. All the colors used in the painting are naturally extracted. The conch shell is ground up and cooked with kaitha gum to get a white color. An empty tin is filled with a burning lamp until a good amount of soot accumulates on the tin’s underside to get a black color. For green color, the neem leaves (Asian tree) are built with kaitha gum. Brown is made from powdered geru stone, combined with water and gum. Red comes from the stone Hingulal, which is a locally available stone. Blue is derived from a local stone called Khandneela. The yellow stone known as hartal, located in Jaipur, is the source of the color yellow.
In the above image, the art is performed especially during marriages, where the names of the bride and groom are written on the wall and the entire wall is decorated. Wall art on mud walls embodies a unique technique where rice paste is applied using the fingers, especially the pointing, middle, and index fingers to create the pattern shown in the image.
Raghurajpur is an amazing example of architecture, art, and culture merging beautifully to create a unique and vibrant living museum. Its traditional dwelling, artisan workshop, and cultural spaces give a glimpse into Odisha’s rich heritage. Through this, one can observe the fabric of the village, their daily lives, and the story of a rural heritage craft village.
References:
- Books
Citations for books with one author:
(Mishra, 2016) . Odisha: an architecture Odyssey. First edition. New Delhi: Bloomsbury.
- Articles
Citations for Journal Articles accessed on a website or database:
Narad Anjali., Rout Priya (2018). Accentuating Beauty of Rural Tourism in Odisha – A Case Study of an Artesian Village Raghurajpur, Puri. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN: 2319-7064
- Online sources
Citations for websites:
Outlook Traveler (2022). The Making of coir crafts in Odisha. [online Available at: https://www.outlooktraveller.com/explore/culture/the-making-of-coir-crafts-in-odisha#:~:text=This%20coir%20craft%20is%20practised,a%20heritage%20village%20by%20INTACH ]
Sarmaya(2018). The sarmaya guide to Odisha Pattachitra. [online Available at: https://sarmaya.in/guides/odisha-pattachitra/ ]
- Images link
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1C7TalVODvQlr47uxh2k2ecun5OmqDxL8?usp=drive_link
