Illustrations on palm leaf manuscript: A unique art of Odisha
Anasuya Moharana
India has inherited huge treasure of knowledge in the forms of manuscripts as gift from our ancestors. The glorious parts of Indian culture lie in these manuscripts. For centuries the manuscripts which have survived have significance of antiquity. Innumerous palm leaf manuscripts have been found across the country which shows the popularity of manuscript writing in India. Now after the advent of paper the palm leaf manuscript writings has stopped almost every parts of India, but it is a matter of fortune that, having a rich collection of palm leaf as well as illustrated manuscripts Odisha the only one state in country which is still carrying its way back tradition of palm leaf engraving. A village named as ‘Raghurājapur’ in ‘Purī’ district of Odisha still now practicing the palm leaf writings as well as palm leaf illustration. The entire village has devoted to this work and one can find at least one artist from every home of this village. The perfection in their paintings, the engraving style, knowledge of dyes, pigments and the manner in which the inks were prepared by Odia artists also have great historical significance. In this research paper an attempt has been made to analysis the methods and techniques adopted in the illustrated palm leaf manuscripts of Odisha.