Patta paintings are so called because they are executed on hand woven silk. They are painted with bright colours and possess a charm peculiarly their own. Their pictorial conceptions, their unique painting technique and line formations together with colour schemes make them a remarkably original art form that is distinct from any other school of painting either in or outside India.

Our Jagannatha Vallabha Vedic Research Center organizes seminars and courses on the culture of Orissa, including the ancient art of Patta Chitra.

The courses are open to Indian and foreign students.

Paintings are generally characterized by strong lines and bright colors, elaborate figures and decoration.

In Tala Patta Chitra, the images are traced by using black or white ink to fill grooves etched on rows of equal-sized panels of palm leaf that are sewn together.

These panels can also be easily folded like a fan and packed in a compact pile for better conservation.

Often palm-leaf illustrations are more elaborated, obtaining by superimposing layers that are glued together for most of the surface, but in some areas can open like small windows to reveal a second image under the first layer.

 Silken or cotton cloth are reinforced with a mixture of chalk and tamarind seeds paste, that also serves to keep the painting safe from insects and moulds.

The canvas is then dried before the figures are drawn and then painted in a very elaborate way, that includes ornate painted frames with traditional decorative motifs.

 The color used are vegetable or mineral, but always natural and carefully prepared by the artists themselves. The black color, used both for paintings and palm leaf etching, is prepared from a mixture of coconut shell charcoal, turmeric and oil.

Half coconut shells are used to contain the colors.

 A painting can take months to be completed, depending on the size and complexity.

The heritage village of Raghurajpur, near Chandanpur, is the seat of the ancient family tradition of painters.

Raghurajpur is set among coconut groves and rice fields on the bank of river Bhargavi, about 12 km from the sacred pilgrimage city of Puri, in Orissa.

About 120 families of artists live here, in a number of houses all lined up on both sides of the main road. Every house in this village is studio and an art gallery.

Local apprentices are also treated like members of the family, according to the traditional Gurukula model, by which the student receives a full immersion experience by living and serving as a member of the family of the teacher.

The village is as an inspiration to preserve folk art, endorsed by the United Nations Development Program and Ministry of Tourism of the Indian Government.

In these last years, this traditional artistic form has been recognized as a particularly valuable asset in cultural and educational tourism.

The traditional families of Chitrakaras have been encouraged to cooperate with educational institutions in organizing training modules of different durations for students who are interested in learning this beautiful cultural expression.

Jagannatha Vallabha Vedic Research center, situated only a few hundreds meters from the artists’ village of Raghurajpur, has developed special programs for those who wish to learn Patta Chitra techniques and iconography directly from the traditional artists.

The themes of Patta Chitra have always been exquisitely religious.

Some illustrate the social traditions of Orissa, that are closely connected with religion..

The Dasa Avatara (“ten divine incarnations”) are often depicted around Jagannatha or by themselves.

Another favorite subject of Patta Chitras is the Krishna lila, as Jagannatha is generally identified as Krishna