Toshali Crafts Mela

Odisha, a state in eastern India, has amazing art, crafts and handlooms. All are very bright, colorful and beautiful.

There are many handicrafts and handlooms fairs and exhibitions that are held like the popular and famous Toshali Crafts Mela. It is held annually in December each year in the Janata Maidan ground in Bhubaneswar.

Extraordinary Palm-Leaf Crafts of Odisha #AToZChallenge

Odisha is known for its excellence of arts and crafts. A large variety of handicrafts have been a part of Odisha's cultural heritage.
When there was no paper, dried Palm-leaves (Talapatra) were used for writing manuscripts. Odia Mahabharata, Ramayana and many other books have been written on Palm-leaves.

Palm-leaf etching is a traditional and popular craft of Odisha that shows the skills of the artisans.

How many Ganesha can you sight here?

A Hero In Real Life

Chosen as a Spicy Saturday Pick by BlogAdda here.

Heroes are not just the ones we see on the big or small screens in reel-life.

We get to meet heroes in real life too. 

They religiously do their works & duties. They are down-to-earth, sincere, and humble. Heroes do not consider their daily lives to be spectacular though their efforts make the world better & more beautiful. 

I got to meet a hero recently in a village near Pipili in Puri district, Odisha, India.

I found women of all ages at work. Using paints, paint-brushes, and eco-friendly & recycled materials like old newspapers, everyday they are creating awesome works of art that are bright, colourful and environment-friendly. Birds & Fish Hangings, Pen-Stands, Flower-Vases, File-Folders with Saura art (Tribal art), Head-shaking Turtles, Key-chain hangers, Painted bottles, Cardboard Dancing Toys shaped as Spiderman etc- their creative work is much loved & much in demand in India & abroad. 

The credit goes to a hero- Mr. Surjyo Narayan Sahoo, who has been imparting them training and ensuring them a good source of income. 

Watch this video for sustainable Odisha art and artists-