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

walls of all the houses are painted, a ritual when there is a wedding in the family.
even other wise they paint their doors and walls.

They use natural colours which are available in basic shades and all the other colours are made b mixing these.
the brushes that were used earlier were made by of buffalo hair, mouse & squirrel hair but now most of them use the brushes available in the market.

forms of art practiced in this village

forms of art practiced in this village

Apart from Palm leaf engraving there are a lot of other arts practiced in this village like warli art, ganjifa playing card,patachitra, paintings on coconut etc.

Palm leaf painting or etching involves a few intricate steps:
• Rows of same sized palm leaves are first arranged together and sewn.
• These neatly sewn palm leaves are then folded in such a way so as to make a pile.
• These paintings are first etched out, which means that the designs and images are neatly etched on the surface of the palm leaf using a sharp pen like object. .
• Ink (or a concoction of charcoal of burnt coconut shells, turmeric and oil) is then poured along the lines; the lines are now defined.
• Vegetable dyes are also added to give these paintings some color, but these paintings are mostly, dichromatic (black and white).
• The panels of the paintings are unfolded like a fan to reveal a beautiful patta chitra.

Raghurajpur

A small village on the banks of river Bhargavee, Raghurajpur is widely known for its cultural heritage. The village has been declared a Craft Village since more than a decade because almost all the villagers are engaged in various crafts such as Patachitra, Palm leaf etching, making masks, ganjifa cards and wood craft. There are 120 families in the village, all engaged in some form of art.

Palm leaf engraving

Palm leaf painting or engraving has been a very old Tribal art form prevalent in Orissa. Prior to discovery of paper, sacred texts were penned on palm leaves. This exquisite art form was originated when written communication began. Sacred texts were penned on palm leaf manuscripts, before paper was discovered. Later decorations with images were done to this text to make it more attractive. The paintings and drawings usually capture the themes of mythological incidents, Gods and Goddesses figures complete with details of hair style and dress, animals, flowers and trees etc. Radha and Krishna, Durga, Ganesha and Saraswati are the most commonly used themes. Stories and incidents of Mahabharat, Ramayana and other epics are also etched.

Aim of the Project

The aim of my project was to study palm leaf engraving (traditional art form from Orissa), how it has evolved over the period of time, understand the problems faced by the artisans, and reason for it being confined to this area. Studying its origin, technique, its application, forms and colours used.

research proposal

Topic
To know more about Palm leaf painting (etching) a traditional form of art from Orissa

Research questions
Q1. What is the reason for the diminishing popularity of this art form?
Interview questions
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 make 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?

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?

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?


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?

Approaches

Interview the artisans of this art
Interview general public to see the awareness
People and their stories
SWOT analysis
Focus group discussion


Data collection method
Primary data
Interviewing the artists & their family
Interviewing the public


Secondary data

Internet
Literature review (palm leaf etching of Orissa by Durg Prasad Patnaik, Palm leaf miniatures: the art of Raghunath Prusli of Orissa, Shri Jagat Guru Mooree)