The arrival of winter brings business to the Chitrakar Sahi, or artists' colony, in the Raghurajpur and Dandshahi villages of Puri, Orissa. For eight months these artists have been busy creating patachitra works and it's now time to sell, as tourists throng the temple town of Puri. Orissa's patachitra art form is believed to date back to the 8 {+t} {+h} century A.D. or even earlier. These iconic folk paintings replete with figures from history and antiquity are made on silk and cotton fabric.

The origins of this art form are traced to Puri's Jagannath temple. The daily ritual of bathing the three wooden images of Lord Jagannath and his siblings results in their discolouration. The idols are periodically removed from the sanctum sanctorum for repainting, and during this period a patachitra of the deities is used for worship..................Click for more

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