Raghurajpur is known for its special type of paintings called the Pata Chitra. This is a traditional Indian painting form, which is done on cloth. The cloth is first coated with a unique mixture of chalk and gum and left to dry. It is thereafter polished before the actual painting work can begin. The painted cloth, known as 'pata' is used as a backdrop to the idol of the deities. Patas are now used as wall hangings.
Pata chitra painting was cool...amazing colors and detail, studying this heritage art form with a master was an unparalleled experience.
-- Ben DeRubertis, USA
In Raghurajpur, there are close to fifty families of pata painters. The chitrakars also make unique, circular playing cards known as ganjapa which are popular in villages all over Orissa. Usually, the lane in which these painters or chitrakaras live is called Chitrakar Sahi. The walls of the thatched houses are painted with colorful murals.
Orissa is an Indian state that in steeped in culture and in various arts, including dance, music, architecture, and painting. Among the painting traditions, the devotional art of the Pata paintings or patachitra on cloth is a very popular style that centers around the worship of Lord Jagannath, a manifestation of Sri Krishna. Orissa is very famous for its Pata chitras. This type of folk art painting includes wall paintings, palm leaf etching, manuscript painting and painting on cloth, both cotton and silk. Chitrakar painters in and around Puri have been practicing this living art form for ages. The main area where the chitrakars live is called the Chitrakar Sahe village, in Raghurajpur district.
The art of Pata painting on cloth can be traced right back to the very development of the shrine of Lord Jagannath at Puri in Orissa. Chitrakars, The artists who paint pata chitras are known as chitrakaras. Often, it is one whole family that is engaged in this craft, headed by the master chitrakar of the family. Sometimes, this master also operates a studio which trains other junior artists working under him. The chitrakaras usually live in the vicinities of temples, such as the Jagannath temple in Puri and also in the village of Raghurajpur, just outside Puri. Besides painting these pata chitras, the chitrakaras have other duties as well, such as painting anasara patis. This are paintings, which temporarily replace the main images of the three deities - Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra, at the time when those deities are considered "inauspicious" and "unfit" for viewing by the faithful.
The chitrakaras also have to paint on the cars, or chariots, on which Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra ride during the annual ratha yatra (car) festival each summer. During this particular festival, the main deity, Jagannath, rides a 45-foot high car. They ride from the Jagannath temple, along Puri's wide Grand Road to the Gundica temple about three kilometers away, and then back again. Chitrakaras are also expected to paint the walls of a small temple next to the Narendra reservoir during the chandana yatra (sandalwood festival), a festival during which images of Krishna, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati are rowed in boats in the reservoir. The artisan's paintpedi, or dowry boxes, that are given to the bride at the time of marriage.
