Pipli is famous for its handcrafted items known as applique and locally it is called as chandua. Applique means the art of decorating a piece of cloth by stitching cut work or pieces of another cloth in a decorative manner.
The village is home to around 150 craftsman and around 600 girls who do the needlework.Famous for applique and patchwork, the village of Pipli is located about 24 kilometres away from Bhubaneswar and approximately 40 km from Puri. Visitors can watch artisans hard at work here and buy umbrellas, handbags, puppets, purses, wall hangings, bedspreads, cushion covers, pillow covers, lampshades, lanterns and more. The tarasas or heart-shaped wooden pieces made here are used in the chariots during festivities.
In fact, in the Chandan Yatra, there are processions in which the deities are covered with chattris made of applique work. This applique work dates back to ancient times. It involves embroidering and stitching small pieces of cloth with depictions of flowers, animals, village scenes and other traditional designs on a larger cloth that forms the base.
Cotton cloth is used for the base as well as for the patches. Different, vibrant colour combinations are conceptualised and then recreated by the talented village folk of Pipli.When were are talking about tradition and art Odisha is one such state which boasts of it’s rich art and heritage. It is state which is famous for it’s handicraft items, it’s art which dates back to the ancient age. Tourism industry is trying it’s best to keep these art in it’s best form and make it available to the huge number of tourists that visits Odisha every year.The government is also taking utmost care to uplift these artisans and get them maximum profit from their art.
Pipli is famous for its handcrafted items known as applique and locally it is called as chandua.Applique means the art of decorating a piece of cloth by stitching cut work or pieces of another cloth in a decorative manner . The village is home to around 150 craftsman and around 600 girls who do the needlework.
This handicraft is related to the rituals and traditions of the Jagannath temple that dates back to the 16th 0r 18th Century. There is no recorded data as to how the craft evolved but it is believed that these form of applique work on cloth are used to decorate the temples of Jagannath and also for the decoration of the Jagannath Ratha Yatra Festival.The umbrellas used are all edorned with applique work.There are small shops some of which are also factories or store houses of these amazing handicraft items.A huge variety of items including bedsheets, bed covers, wall hangings, table cloths, table runners, purses, bags, diwali decorations, canopies ,decorative umbrella, wallets, etc are available.
The common applique works includes motifs made of elephants, flowers, tribal art, Gods, Goddesses, artistic designs etc.These items are all for sale but make sure you bargain as they can charge a lot. Ask them to show more designs as a single design may be available in various patterns, colours, etc. On visiting the Sun Temple of Konark you can see lots of shops selling applique items but I would suggest to buy from the village shops as the prices are comparatively lesser.
