Reflective note:

From the beginning I wanted to work on colour so I started exploring medias which had colour and where colour was given a lot of importance. The first thing that I thought of researching on was the colours in the different cities of India, but with a bit of research I realized that it was not possible to differentiate the colour palette of the cities as only a handful had a peculiar palette and the rest looked alike.
It was then that I stated exploring more and came down to studying the colour palatte of different genres of music but during the research I realized that this topic was very vast and it didn’t interest me to much.
Finally, I found something of my interest, Palm leaf etching a traditional form of art of Orissa.
I came across this art during my visit to the Dastakar fare, where I even spoke to the artisans.
To get a detailed knowledge of this art it was important to visit the place where it was practiced.
After talking to the artisans I got to know that this art was practiced by a lot of artisans in Raghurajpur village close to Puri, Orissa. I contacted a few artisans from this village and asked it they could help me by providing a bit of information. They all agreed to it and I decided to visit the village.
In the village there were 120 families all engages in some form of art or the other. They were all very helpful and sweet. I visited each and every house in the village and the people were very warm and cordial.
All of them had amazing collection of art and loved showing it. From the kids to the grand parents, all were engaged in some art. The men in the families were more into the detailed form of art like the patachitra, palm leaf etching and ganjifa playing cards. Whereas the females practiced the simpler forms of art like warli paintings on bottles, paintings on coconut and even made borders of patachitra paintings which were very intricate.
I observed the artists painting and etching on palm leaves and they even explained the stories behind the scenes.
The artisans were more than thrilled to give their interview and I got a lot of information from that.
I was there in Puri for 5 days stayed in the village from morning to evening. I really enjoyed going there as the village was cleaner than the city, all the villagers were very helpful and loved looking at the work they did.
I got a lot of information from the artisans and the visit turned out to be quite fruitful.

Problems faced by the artisans
• Marketing their art work is a major problem faced by them.
• Replicas available in the market are much cheaper and people with little knowledge about the art cannot differentiate and land up buying those.
• The measures taken by the government are oriented towards the comfort of the tourists which adds to the revenue earnings.
• The NGO in the village works with a few fixed artisans and the profit is not shared with them
• Because of the NGO being in the village, the government and the fare holders directly contact them to participate in exhibitions and other fares and the artisans don’t get a chance to showcase their work.
• They only work with a few artisans in the village who work at very low wages with them. The profit is not shared with these artisans.
• The National awardees

people from the village

Re-defined proposal

Topic
What is Palm Leaf engraving (talapatachitra) and how has it evolved over the period of time?
Research questions
Q1. Do you think the popularity of this art form is decreasing?

Q2. What technique is used in this art?

Q3. To know more how palm leaf is used to prepare horoscopes & who writes them?

Q4. To understand the importance of colour and forms used in this art form?

Q1. Do you think the popularity of this art is decreasing?
Interview questions (for the artisans)
1. Since when has this art been practiced?
2. Who are the main customers?
3. Where all is this art used?
4. Why is it not a very popular art among the masses?
5. Do you also do palm leaf engraving as per the requirement of the customer?
6. How long does it take to complete one scroll of about 12 leaves?
7. What is the kind of experience required to work at a professional level?
8. How much do you earn per art work/in a month/ in a year?



Q2. What technique is used in this art?
Interview questions
1. How the palm leaf is made resistible for etching?
2. Which tool is used for etching?
3. How do you preserve the art work?
4. Are there any special colours that are used to paint?
5. Are any special brushes used?
6. How long does it take to make the palm leaf ready to use?
7. What are the different levels of processing the palm leaf?
8. From where do get the palm leaves?


Q3. To know more how palm leaf is used to prepare horoscopes & who writes them?
Interview questions
1. From where do you get the information on the horoscope?
2. Who writes these horoscopes?
3. Since when have you been practicing this?
4. What is the kind of information required to make this?
5. How much time does it take to make one horoscope?
6. Do you customize it?
7. Is it etched or painted?
8. If painted then what is the importance of colour used?
9. From where do you get the orders for this?
10. Does it hold any special importance on palm leaf?
11. Who are the main customers?
12. What is the state of progress in the demand of customized palm leaf horoscopes?


Q4. To understand the importance of colour and forms used in this art form?
Interview questions
1. Since when has colour been used?
2. Are you open to changes in the forms used?
3. Does any colour signify any importance?
4. From where are the forms influenced?
5. What colour medium do you use?
6. Are these natural colours or synthetic?
7. Are there any limitations with these forms?
8. Have there been any changes in the way these forms are used?

palm leaf etching