The craft exhibition at the Muslim Library. Picture by Uma Shankar Dubey

Jamshedpur, March 9: Everything from colourful appliqué work, patch work, intricate stone and wood carvings, terracotta, dhokra casting, traditional pattachitra and palm leaf engravings were on display at the cluster craft mela.

The mela is an exhibition-cum-sale of Orissa handicrafts and art textiles that is being held at the Muslim Library.

A large number of visitors flocked at all the 15 stalls to watch artisans busily carving oilseed wood, polishing brass and bell metal and making paintings on small canvasses which depicted the tribal art of Orissa — the land of temples.

The artisans — Bishnu Charan Sahoo, Benudhar Maharana, Bharat Bhushan Parida, Krishna Chandra Mohapatra and Ganesh Patnaik — already had their works of art ready.

Papier mache toys, buffalo horn articles, silver filigree ornaments, items made of seashells, cards and decorative goods were there for the buyers to choose from.

The cluster craft mela, which began yesterday, is drawing a large crowd.

The handicraft and art textiles exhibition is organised by Puri Creative Handicrafts Co-operative Society Limited (PCHCSL).

“We have come to the city for the first time and expect a good crowd to come and see the handicrafts of Orissa,” said B.P. Nanda president of PCHCSL. He added that most of the artwork are from different districts of Orissa, including Puri, Khurda, Cuttack and Bolangir.

Representatives of self-help groups of Orissa were managing the stalls. The stone carvings, pattachitra, buffalo horn work and “takasi” (silver ornaments) are artwork from Cuttack.