Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Oriya Culture

Orissa has a rich culture with many unique festivals. With the advent of communication and mixing of population, Oriyas have gradually started celebrating festivals originated from other regions, but the unique oriya festivals are not entirely forgotten. In this post we'll go through a few such unique aspects of Oriya culture depicted in the wall paintings of Bhubaneswar.

Boita Bandana

In ancient times Orissa (then known as Kalinga) was a major sea faring nation. Kalinga had regular contacts with South and South East Asia where in merchants from Kalinga (then called Sadhavas) used to trade spices and other local products with those countries. The sailors used to set sail in the Asadha month (of Oriya calenar, rainy season) and come back by the Baisakha month (summer season). Women from the families of the traveling sailors used to perform rituals for the safe journey of the boats, which was called as Boita Bandana (Worship of the Boats).

In recent times, in rememberance of those days, a festival called Danga Bhasha (floating the boats) is celebrated. People make toy boats from the dry bark of banana plant with wood and paper and float them in rivers and ponds with a lighted lamp inside it. It is remiscent of watching the merchant boats sail away from the ports. In coastal Orissa, particularly Cuttack, a festival called Bali Yatra is also celebrated along the river banks. Tales of 'Taapoi' are also recited.

Bhagabata Tungi

Bhagabata Purana (or Srimad Bhagabata) is one of the eighteen puranas (old tales) of Hindu culture, dealing mostly with tales about lord Krishna. Reciting puranas is a fine art, and the people who took this on as a profession came to be known as Bhagabats. In villages there is usually one family that take Bhagabat recital as their profession. They are often non brahmins and hold their recital in a designated place in the village called the Bhagabata Tungi. The Bhagabata Tungi is also an invaluable source of informal education and philosophical discussions in the village.

Nagara Kirtana

Nagara Kirtana is a ritual where a group of people singing religious songs along with traditional musical instruments go through the village streets in a procession. This is also an illustration of 'Bhakti Yoga' where devotees forget everything else singing songs about God.

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - History of Orissa

The history of Orissa is over 3500 years old and has been mostly different from that of the rest of northers India.

In ancient times, it was known as Kalinga and was inhabited by a few large and prosperous tribes. As a major sea-faring nation, Kalinga had regular contacts with South and South East Asia. Merchants from Kalinga used to trade spices and other local products with other countries.

The Nanda Dynasty ruled over Kalinga from around 362 BC. Though Kalinga lost its independence, the Nanda rule brought prosperity to Kalinga through numerous developmental activities by the Nanda king.

In 261 BC, the Mayuran Emperor Ashoka invaded Kalinga. A fierce battle was raged at the banks of river Daya (now near to Bhubaneswar) which dragged over many days. The people of Kalinga resisted fearlessly, till their last resources were exhausted. There were a large number of soldiers slaughtered, from both armies, and the waters of river Daya was tinged red with the blood of the dead. At the end Ashoka won the war, but when he saw the devastation he had caused, it had a great impact on him. It led to the transformation of Ashoka, who was previously known as Chandashoka (the Cruel Ashoka), to be a kind and benevolent king known as Dharmashoka (the Pious Ashoka). He left the path of voilence and ensured good governance and ensured development in his empire.



That is what is depicted in the wall painting above which shows the armies fighting with the red tinged Daya river in the background and later Ashoka leaving the path of violence and embracing Buddhism by surrendering his sword to the Buddhist monks.

There's lot more on the history of Orissa. You can start from this Wikipedia article.


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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Tribals of Orissa

The Bondas are a very small tribe of people (around 5000) living in remote Malkangiri district of Orissa. The Bondas are not the only tribes, a few more are listed here. There are a few wall paintings depicting them and typical jewelery worn by the few surviving tribes of Orissa. Notice the thick neck rings and nose rings worn by the Bondas.





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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Temples and Historical Places

Temples abound in Orissa. Incidentally, Bhubaneswar is called the Temple City of Orissa. The following pictures of Bhubaneswar wall paintings are about the temples and a few historical places of Orissa. From top to bottom, they depict the following:

• Lingaraj Temple
  
• Mukteswar Temple
• Arch of Mukteswar Temple showing Buddhist influence.
• Konark, the Sun temple. It also has several depictions of the classical dance form Odissi.
• One of the horse sculptures of Konark.
• Tarini temple, Purusottampur near Bramhapur
• Akhandalamani Temple
• Raja Rani Temple, Bhubaneswar
• Samaleswari Temple, Sambalpur
• Khandagiri & Udayagiri caves
• A popular fair that happens at Khandagiri & Udaygiri
• Barabati Fort, Cuttack

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Oriya Food

Here are some Oriya dishes picturized in the wall paintings of Bhubaneswar. This page in Wikipedia lists some more Oriya dishes.

In the above picture, roughly from left to right are:

• Dali (Dal/Lentils)
• Tarakari (Curry)
• Dahi (Curd) hanging from a Sika. You see it hanging from a contraption made out of jute rope called Sika. The Sika is usually hung from the ceiling and used to keep food and items away from insects, animals and kids.
• Basa Dahi (Creamy Thick Curd). The other type of curd is called Ghola Dahi (Skimmed Curd).
• Saga Bhaja (Fried green leafy vegetables).
• A typical traditional meal served on plantain leaf.

In the picture immediately above, roughly from left to right are:

• Pakhala (Rice in salted and herbed water)
• Enduri (Rice cakes wrapped in turmeric leaves and steamed)
• Manda Pitha (Steamed rice cakes with sweetened/salted fillings)
• Chakuli Pitha (Flat cakes made from a fermented batter of rice & lentils and fried on a pan. A type of Dosa.)
• Arisha Pitha (Rice flour mixed with spices & warm jaggery water to make dough, made into flat round cakes and deep fried in oil)
• Puri (Deep fried & puffed flour (typically wheat flour) breads)
• Karanji (Folded oval shaped maida puris stuffed with sweetened & spiced grated coconut, sealed with decorated folds and fried)
• Rasagola (Cheese balls immersed in light sugar syrup and boiled.)
• Gulab Jamun (Balls of corn flour, cream and spices deep fried and dipped in sugar syrup)
• Khasta Gaja (Sweetened fried maida flour)
• Dali Gaja (Similar to the Khasta Gaja, but crusted with sugar)
• Laddu
• Chena Poda (Sweetened and spiced cheese baked in oven.)
• Bada Osa Bhoga (A variety of Manda Pitha with tapered top made specially for a festival called Bada Osa)

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Tales of Orissa

Bhubaneswar is more beautiful now with many of its walls beautifully painted. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken up this activity since almost a year now. Some of the paintings are master pieces of art. The paintings have been weather coated and would last 5-7 years.

This has been a mutually beneficial program for both the BMC as well as the painters it hires. Qualified artists who were not able to arrange even 30 rupees a day for livelihood are now getting a steady source of income from the BMC. This has also served as a showcase of their talent and orders from other sources have also started to trickle in.

The face of Bhubaneswar has taken a new form in recent times under the able guidance of Ms. Aparajita Sarangi, the present BMC Commissioner. Roads are cleaner, vending and no-vending zones have been clearly demarcated. Road side vendors have been provided neat permanent shops in vending zones. Traffic has been better regulated and numerous directions put up in most roads. I sincerely hope for the continuation of the good work; there is a lot more to be done, and this is a very good beginning.

I had taken quite a few pictures of the wall paintings during my recent visit to Bhubaneswar. I intend to categorize them and present them in the next few posts as a narration of the culture of Orissa. This is not yet an exhaustive showcase of all wall paintings of Bhubaneswar. In case you have some pictures that I have missed, and wish to contribute them here, you are most welcome.

• Oriya Food
• Temples and Historical Places
• Tribals of Orissa
• History of Orissa
• Oriya Culture
• Festivals of Orissa
• Art & Crafts of Orissa
  
• Music & Dances of Orissa
• Natural Beauty & Resources of Orissa