Aayu Publications

Odisha has a rich and unique heritage of art traditions beginning from the sophisticated temple sculpture to folk arts. It is famous for its magnificent and majestic temples. The kings of different dynasties built innumerable temples from 6th to 13th century C.E. In fact, there was a competition among the ruling dynasties to built huge temples and surpass the previous dynasty in temple building activities. The Odias displayed their remarkable creative power in these temples. While they built their temples like giants, they sculptured the walls of the temples like master-artists. The theme of these sculptures were so varied for the artist and his imagination so deep that, as if he was writing an epic on the surface of the stone. It is not merely that he was doing a duty to a king or showing devotion to a God, but was depicting a culture at its finest. “In these magnificent temples, the stones speak and each chisel mark signs the artistic glory and the rich cultural heritage of Odisha”. But, when the massive temple building activities have stopped in Orissa, the paintings or pictorial art gained momentum. The pictorial art of Orissa are very rich, exciting and vibrant. It attracts thousands and thousands of visitors to witness the native genius of Orissa. This work is a humble attempt to present the different aspects of the art of Odisha from sculptural art of Jaina, Buddha and Hindu monuments to the pictorial art including the Saura wall paintings- Idital in a fascinating manner which reads like a novel. This book will be appreciated by the students, teachers, researchers, tourists and the general readers who are interested to know the different aspects of the art of Odisha.