Patta” literally means “cloth” and “Chitra” means “picture”. This style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha. Pattachitra paintings are based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired by Vaishnavism (worship of Lord Vishnu and his avatars) which is associated with Lord Jagannath. Lord Jagannath (“Lord of the Universe”), inspires religion, life and activity of the people of Odisha. Besides Lord Jagannath, most of the themes of traditional Pattachitra are devoted to Lord Krishna and folk tales from Ramayana and Mahabharata.Paintings are done on palm leaf strips. For a rectangular or square canvas, rows of same-size panels of palm leaves are sewn together lengthwise with a thread passing through the middle of each of them. These panels can be folded into a compact form.
Material - cotton layer,temuring gum,chauk powder to create sheet
Art/Craft/Technique - Pattachitra Painting