At a glimpse :

Location : All across Orissa, especially in Puri village.

Established : Previous period of time.

Facts :

Wood Carving, is another most important handicraft or art form which is popular in the state of Orissa. This type of art is originated from the earlier centuries which are worth watching while on tour to this state. The wooden handicraft is again broadly divided into three main sub-groups; they are the wood tuned showpieces, plain beautiful wood carvings, and the marvelously painted wooden carvings. In one group, the artisans paint the wooden toys that are made in Puri village, and also the amazing masks form Bargarh. They also paint the chariot and the small idols of their deities as a sign of decoration. Usually, to paint the different light wood they mostly prefer using the vivid colors that are extracted from mineral and vegetable. This kind of art is mainly practiced by craftsperson that belongs to the caste of a carpenter. These type of tribals are titled as the ‘Moharana’.

For wood carving, the carpenters do not use any kind of complicated tools, but they mainly use the simple one. They mostly use the carpentry tools like the chisel, hammer, and many more. From the carvings of the wood, the artisans create various different types of beautiful motifs including the stylized birds, animals, and human beings. The most common toys for children or the showpiece that are used to decorate the house, are the Nabgunjara, peacock, tiger, lion, elephant, bull, horse, and many more. Mostly, you can see big idols of the deities that are placed in the temple, which you cannot keep at your house. The craftsperson also carves the sculptures of Lord Krishna and Radha and her sakhis, which are the most popular one among all of them. From the wood, they also carve the other three main deities that are placed in the village of Puri Temple, they are Subhadra, Balabhadra, and Jagannath.

In this village, there are some of the marvelous painted wooden carvings doors with extended panels that depict the legendary scenes from the life of Lord Krishna. Other than that, some of the wooden carvings that are painted also represent the story of other deities and Ramayana. In various Festivals of Orissa, painted wooden masks are the most common which depict the human faces. During the car festivals, the three wonderful chariots are abundantly decorated with the wooden images that represent various deities are simply known as the ‘parswadevatas’. The images of the charioteer or the sarathi and the horses that are attached in front are made from the wood carving of Puri. Similar other items that are also fixed to this beautiful chariot of the Lingaraj during the earlier time of Asokastami in Bhubaneswar. While exploring in this village, visitors can also spot some of the interesting wooden images of Brahma that are painted with vivid colors. The painted wooden images are amazingly placed at the entrance of the Lingaraj temple.

During the spring festival which is known as ‘Dola’, the decorative carved wooden items of Lord Krishna, Radha, and Sakhis are attached to the ceremonial swing or the Kunjas. In Orissa state, during the festive season, usage of wooden carvings is increased, they mostly link to the religious and cultural tradition of this region. In the group of plain wood carvings, the craftsmen mostly carve the woods that are soft and creamish in color, they are known as the white teak or gambhari.

While the others features in the group of painted wooden carvings are generally less distinct and blunt. Comparatively, in the plain wooden carvings that are in gambhari, they are too fine and sharp, but achieve exquisite work finish. The efforts and the dedication of the craftsmen are more appreciated for making such beautiful sculptures. The carving of the soft wood is well finished and proportioned to get the great smoothness to these items. Such type of items are perfect for the fine arts including the Konark wheel, and other items that are reflected with the base of folklore, legends, and myths. The most popular carvings of wood you can spot are the Hara Parvati, Sakhis, Radha, and Lord Krishna, Konark horse, and the Konark elephant.

They are the most famous, but if you compare the scenes from the Mahabharatha it represents Krishna’s teachings Arjuna that are described in the religious book of Gita. In this mythological book, the battle held during the Mahabharata is depicted through the wooden carving. This type of wood carving is mainly practiced in the town of Cuttack though some of the craftsmen reside near the village of Puri and Bhubaneswar. The wood turned carvings that are used for writings are mainly done from the creamish gambhari. The darker and harder rose or sisu wood is specially used by the artisans from the region of Daspalla in Puri district. The most popular items that are carved from wood are the small water jug with curvy mango leaves, bowls, glass, coconut, glass, bowls, and the incense stands. The interest of wood turning is operated in large amount not only in India but also other countries of the world. The artisans of Orissa leaves the base plain and mostly they do no decorate it similar to the toy makers of the Chennapatna in the state of Karnataka.

Some of the excellent samples of wood carvings of Orissa can be spotted in the religious temple especially on the ceilings or doors, and also on the wooden beams. Such type of art form can be found by the visitors in the holy places like the Laxmi-Nrusingha temple, Kapilas, Siva temple, Charchika temple, Banki, Buguda, and Birnchinarayan temple in Berhampur. Make sure while wandering in the state of Orissa you see some of the famous and alluring Orissa crafts.