raghrajpur

“When you can’t get to the city, work so hard that the city comes to you” many wise men said that to the youngsters of the tiny hamlet of Raghurajpur, who dreamed of travelling to lands beyond their reach. While some paid heed to the advices, other youngsters packed their bags and migrated to lands of opportunities. Some were successful. One such youngster who paved a way from himself beyond the confines of his village was Guru Kelu Chandra Mohapatra, who is a legend in himself. His name is synonymous to Odissi dance. But there was one man who stayed on and made the city travel to him. He is the exponent of the Gotipua style of dancing. After having seen 85 summers the man is still young at heart and rejoices at the mention of his dance. “I still dance but just sometimes. It’s the youngsters who have taken over” he says, with a toothless smile, as he points to some young children who throng the place. The children, mostly in the age group of 7 to early 20’s have long hair “that’s to give an impression that women are the performers, as the name so ‘gotipua’ so suggests” says saral, one of the dancers

The village of Raghurajpur is just 10 kms away from Puri and Intach declared it a heritage village. The village, is a travellers paradise. One is welcomed by the artistic twists of the dusty village pathways winding through coconut groves. Lines of houses that seem to be vacant come alive as the car comes to a halt and many faces run up to invite one to view what they have in store. It’s only when you are politely cajoled into one room full of artistic ‘patachitras’ that you realize that it’s an artists workshop too. Patachitras are the beautiful art forms on traditional art word drawn on silk cloth or palm leaves. The themes are mostly derived from Hindu mythology and are all surprisingly original. No two paintings are similar. Watching the artists brush out minute lines is a learning process. The whole village is involved in promoting the art form, though around 25 families here belong to Bengal and have now settled down in this village to make it their own. “Six other nearby villages are involved in painting patachitras,” say’s Sanatan mohapatra .
The village has been declared a heritage village, but it ought to set a precedent for the other villages of the state. The other villages which form a proof of poverty must be transformed into modern villages as well. The sooner the work commences the better it is for the development of the state that is bent upon indutrialisation. Industrialisation in itself is bound to set the state in a mode of development.