Odisha Craft Villages: Pipili, Raghurajpur, Nuapatna

Most visitors to Odisha’s coast follow the same triangle: Bhubaneswar’s temples, the Jagannath temple at Puri and the Sun Temple at Konark. They are remarkable places, but the triangle hides something just as rewarding: the craft villages that sit between them. In a single day or two, you can visit three of the best known, Pipili, Raghurajpur and Nuapatna, and see appliqué, patachitra painting and ikat weaving made by families who have practised these crafts for generations.

This guide is written for travellers who want something other than another temple queue. Note that conditions in spring 2020 were unusual, with travel restrictions affecting much of the country; check what is open before you plan a visit, and treat this as a guide for when travel is possible again.

Pipili: appliqué on the Puri road

Pipili lies on the main road between Bhubaneswar and Puri, roughly 40 kilometres from Puri and 20 or so from Bhubaneswar. It is impossible to miss: shops on both sides of the highway are hung with brightly coloured canopies, umbrellas, wall hangings, bags and lanterns.

Pipili’s appliqué work, known locally as chandua, involves cutting shapes from coloured cloth and stitching them onto a base fabric to form patterns of animals, flowers, birds and deities. Traditionally, the craft was closely linked to the Jagannath temple, supplying canopies and umbrellas for festivals, especially the Rath Yatra. Pipili appliqué received a Geographical Indication tag, recognising its origin.

Many of the items in roadside shops are now made for tourists and households, and quality varies. If you have time, ask a shopkeeper whether you can see artisans at work in the lanes behind the main road. Look for neat, tight stitching and hand-cut motifs.

Raghurajpur: a village of painters

Raghurajpur is a small village roughly 10 to 15 kilometres north of Puri, set among coconut, mango and jackfruit groves near the Bhargavi river. It is known as a heritage crafts village, and almost every household is involved in art.

The best-known craft here is patachitra, a style of painting on treated cloth, using natural colours made from stone, shells, lamp soot and plant materials. Paintings depict stories from Hindu mythology, especially those connected with Jagannath, as well as scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Krishna legends. The detail can be extraordinary, with fine borders and tiny figures.

Artists in Raghurajpur also paint on palm leaves, engraving lines with a stylus before filling them with ink, and make masks, toys, wooden boxes and painted coconuts. The village’s houses are often decorated with murals, and many artists welcome visitors into their homes to see work in progress.

Raghurajpur is also associated with gotipua, a traditional dance form in which young boys dressed as girls perform acrobatic routines, and which is considered a precursor to Odissi. Kelucharan Mohapatra, one of the most celebrated Odissi gurus, was born here.

Nuapatna: ikat on the looms

Nuapatna lies further inland, in Cuttack district, roughly 70 to 90 kilometres from Bhubaneswar depending on the route. It is known for weaving, particularly the ikat textiles of Odisha, known as bandha.

In ikat, threads are tied and dyed before weaving, so that patterns emerge as the cloth is woven. The work requires great precision, as each thread must be dyed in exactly the right places. Odisha’s ikat is known for its fine curved patterns, often depicting fish, flowers, temples and animals. Nuapatna is also associated with Khandua silk, traditionally used for the cloth offered at the Jagannath temple, with lines from the Gita Govinda woven into it.

Visiting Nuapatna gives you a chance to see looms in homes and cooperatives. The rhythmic sound of shuttles is a constant in many lanes. Because it is further from the coast, it is less visited than Pipili or Raghurajpur, and a guide or a contact through a weavers’ cooperative can make the visit easier.

Planning your visit

A simple plan is to visit Pipili and Raghurajpur on the same day, travelling between Bhubaneswar and Puri. Allow a morning or afternoon for Raghurajpur, where you can walk from house to house. Nuapatna is best visited as a separate day trip from Bhubaneswar or Cuttack.

Hire a car with a driver for flexibility, as public transport to Raghurajpur and Nuapatna is limited.
Visit Raghurajpur in the morning, when light is good and artists are at work.
Carry cash; small artisans may not accept cards.
Ask before photographing people and homes.
Be prepared for sales pitches, but do not feel obliged to buy.

Food along the way

Odisha’s food is reason enough to linger. Along the Puri road, look for small eateries serving dalma, a lentil and vegetable dish; pakhala, fermented rice eaten in the hot months; and sweets such as chhena poda and rasagola. Near Raghurajpur and Pipili, simple roadside stalls are often the best option for a quick meal.

Buying well

Buying directly from artisans means more of your money reaches the makers. Prices for patachitra vary widely depending on size, detail and the use of natural colours, and the best pieces take weeks to complete. Ask questions about how a work was made, and buy what you love rather than what you are told is a bargain.

For textiles, look at the back of the fabric: in genuine ikat, the pattern should appear on both sides. Government emporiums in Bhubaneswar and cooperative showrooms can be useful places to compare quality and prices.

When to go

The best time to visit is generally from October to March, when the weather is cooler and drier. Summers on the Odisha coast are hot and humid, and the monsoon brings heavy rain. Craft villages are especially busy before festivals, including the Rath Yatra, usually held in June or July.

Why it matters

Craft villages are living communities, not museums. Many artisans face challenges, from competition with machine-made products to rising costs of materials and younger generations moving to other work. Thoughtful visits, fair purchases and genuine interest all help. And they reward visitors with a deeper understanding of Odisha, one in which temples, festivals and crafts are part of a single, connected story.