Raghurajpur

Raghurajpur is a single street of about a hundred and twenty houses in two facing rows, and every household in it works in craft, principally pattachitra: painting on cloth stiffened with tamarind seed paste and chalk, worked in natural pigments with a fine brush, in a tradition tied to the Jagannath temple, where the deities' substitute images are painted during the period the wooden ones are being replaced. Houses carry murals on their outer walls, so the street itself is painted. Palm leaf engraving, papier-mâché masks, stone carving and wood toys are also made. It was designated a heritage craft village in 2000.

Highlights

• The painted street - murals on the outer walls of every house.
• The pattachitra work - cloth paintings in natural pigment with fine brushes.
• Palm leaf engraving - designs scratched into leaf and rubbed with ink.
• The Gotipua dancers - the boy dance tradition trained in the village.

When to go

October to March; artists work through the year at home. Mornings are best for finding people at work. The village is small and covered in a couple of hours.

What to expect

Every house is a shop and the sales pressure is constant and intense, which many visitors find wearing. Printed reproductions are sold as hand-painted. Prices for visitors start high.

Nearby

Puri lies southeast; Konark is northeast.