Every state in India has its own unique art form. Similarly, Odisha has its own Patta Chitra. This Patta Chitra of Odisha has an ancient tradition that dates back to 500 BC. This proud Patta Chitra was born in Raghurajpur, near Puri in Odisha, and this art form is still being painted and preserved by the artists here. 200 families of 800 people in this village have dedicated their lives to this art form and are celebrating this Raghurajpur village as an art village.

We had set out to visit Puri Jagannath and planned to visit this village to buy some paintings as a souvenir. On the Bhubaneswar-Puri highway, turn left after the village of Sakhi Gopal and go one kilometer inwards to reach this Raghurajpur village. At the very entrance of the village, the painters welcomed us and invited us to come to their house and see the paintings. We accepted the invitation of one of the artist and went to their house. The house was full of paintings. Wherever we turned, we saw paintings.

These Patta Chitra paintings are a type of painting done on cloth using natural dyes. The word Patta means cloth. Two cotton cloths are put together and a mixture made of conch and tamarind is applied on top and dried in the sun to create the base of the cloth for painting. Then, these artists use natural dyes to paint beautiful and artistic paintings on that cloth and create a complete Patta Chitra. This painting is mostly based on the Jagannath culture. Basically, every art of Odisha has embraced the Jagannath culture.

At the artist’s house, they showed us the paintings they had worked so hard on. We looked around with interest. Our minds were searching for something to buy. After looking around for a while, I bought a Dasavathara painting painted on a palm leaf for 500 rupees. It is a very beautiful and artistic painting of the 10 incarnations of Mahavishnu in a circle. Lord Jagannath is seated in the middle of it. Paintings painted on palm leaves are also famous in this town. This is called a Thala Patta painting.

Then we walked down the street and into the village. Many more families have these paintings painted in their houses. We visited a few more houses. All the houses are painted and decorated with beautiful paintings. The main occupation of the families in this village is these paintings. All the men and women in the families are artists. Everyone paints whatever comes to their mind as paintings and saves them. Then when the opportunity arises, they sell them. This skill is passed down from generation to generation through genetics and teaching.

We enjoyed their meticulous and artistic painting for some time. It was very difficult to avoid everyone who is calling us to come to their house as soon as we walked down the street. It is impossible to go to everyone’s house and see the paintings, isn’t it? So we visited only a few houses.

A painting of Lord Jagannath with royal adornment and gold decoration caught our attention. I bought both the paintings for Rs. 3000 and gifted one to my father-in-law and kept the other for our home’s puja room. The paintings here are available starting from Rs. 2000. Paintings painted on one cloth start at Rs. 2000, while paintings painted on two cloths with natural dyes are available on average from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 20000. Don’t think that it is so expensive, art has no price. Despite all this talent, these families here are still on the verge of poverty. The meager support from the government is not enough.

I urge you, who are going to visit Lord Jagannath in Puri, to visit these families and theirpattachitras in Raghurajpur.

That is the greatest respect we pay to art and to Lord Jagannath.

Hail Jagannath! Hail Pattachitra!

Travel Guide:

Location: Ragurajpur, Near Puri.

Special Fact: The village full of artists making the famous Pattachitra paintings.

How to reach: Get down at Malatipatpur on the way to Puri if travelling by Public bus. From there you can take auto to reach Raghurajpur. The distance is around 5 km from Malatipatpur to Raghurajpur.

Best Time to visit: Any time in a year.

Time need to visit: 3 Hours

Things to do: Meet the artists, Have a conversation with them about Patta chitra and see the patta chitra paintings showcased at their home. You can buy Pattachitra and Painting souvenirs, if you would like to.

Food and Stay: No good restaurants at village. You can find at Highway near Malatipatpur or Puri. Generally no need to stay on this village.

Safety: Generally safe for Visitors.

My Rating: 9/10

Trip Budget (Tentative as on 2024) (You can add inflation with the below price by the year you are in now)

Item	Budget	Comfortable	Luxury
Reaching there	100 INR for Bus from Bhubaneshwar and 300 INR for Auto	100 INR for Bus from Bhubaneshwar and 300 INR for Auto	4000 INR for SUV rental car
Shopping	No need for shopping	2000 INR for Pattachitra and Painting souvenir shopping	5000 INR for First class Pattachitra shopping
Total	400 INR	2400 INR	9000 INR