From Raghurajpur to Rome, ‘Tree of Life’ puts smile on faces of artist, fraternity

PURI:  Raghurajpur heritage village went into a frenzy after getting to know that the masterpiece ‘Tree of Life’ made by one of their clan was presented by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to the Pope in Rome on Wednesday. 

The famed Pattachitra brought to life by noted artist Apindra Swain had earlier hogged limelight due to its intricacy and finesse. “I was not aware that the painting sold to a government official will finally find a place in Vatican,” said Swain with humility.

Swain explained that the painting exudes vibrance with a heady mix of many colours including white, black, red and blue. It symbolically reflects natural life force of  animals, humans besides flora and fauna. 

“Art is above all religions and depicts humanity hence art lovers from all across want to make it their own,” Swain said adding that the piece of art cost around ` 13,000-`18,000 to make and took about 18 - 20 days for completion.

It is a memorable day for me as my creation has gone overseas to adorn the walls of important people and places, Swain said with a sense of pride. “I have a dozen similar paintings in my counter for sale,” he added.

The villagers relentless in celebrating the day, were equally vocal in showering appreciation on the CM for re-establishing the Pattachitra art in international arena. They thanked Patnaik for promoting traditional Odishan art.

The art village located about 12 km from Puri along side the Puri-Bhubaneswar national highway is home to about 200 artist families who are engaged in making Pattachitra paintings. Prominent on the state tourist map, the village is frequented by scores of tourists to   buy Pattachitra works. After declaring Raghurajpur as an art village, the State government tagged it also as a heritage village.