Back in a tour bus (this one was new and air-conditioned), our first destination for the day was Pipli, a village of artisans about 15 km south of Bhubaneswar. This village is famous for its colorful appliqué textiles, a craft that originally served temples. Using some of the same techniques and vivid color combinations, Pipli artisans create garden umbrellas, wall hangings, bags, and hanging lanterns/wind socks. Common motifs include the wide–eyed face of Lord Jagannath, peacocks, birds, flowers, animals, children, flowers, and radial designs. The style and subject matter depiction on some of the wall hangings and bags reminded me of Hmong Story Cloths, with a rather “folk art” style, combination of appliqué and embroidered enhancements to the village or animal scenes.
We arrived there rather early before some of the shops lining the road were open. Stacked on tables and shelves were piles of finished pieces. If you expressed any interest, the shop person happily opened up one piece after another, tossing it into a “maybe” or “no” pile. With less than half an hour total time at the village, this wasn’t a very efficient way to see things. In a couple of shops, one could see sewing in action using old-fashioned treadle sewing machines so common in India.
See more photos of the appliqué arts of Pipli on my Flickr page
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