Saturday, December 01, 2012

Stone Carving at Puri-Konark, Odisha



Stone Carving is one of the major handicrafts of Orissa. The craft finds its genesis in ancient temples, palaces, forts, monuments etc. Both hard and soft stones are used for carving. Hard stones like black granite, sand stone, red stone, weather resistant and used for temples, monuments and other exterior works. Soft stones like Kendumundi, green stone are used for carving interior decorative works.

Present scenario: The craft is till practice through out Orissa. Decorative items like statute of God & Goddess, Devdashi and utility items like table lamp stand, pen stand, table bowl, door panel, flower vase etc. are largely marketed through out India and abroad. Traditional stone carving clusters are located at Puri, Konark, Bhubaneswar, Khiching, Soro Baulagadia, Dhakota, The Stone Carving of Orissa has created a niche for itself in the international market through modern-day design interventions.

Clusters in Stone Carvings :
1 Narangarh in Khurda
2 Soro Baulagadia in Balasore
3 Khiting in Mayurbhanj
4 Chhatia in Jajpur
5 Dha Kota in Keonjhar
6 Kandhagarh in Kalahandi
7 Chhaitana in Puri
8 Puri-Konark