Foreign artistes at the International Art and Craft Exchange programme in Raghurajpur near Puri. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: The heritage village of Raghurajpur has turned into a melting pot of various cultures.

The third edition of Raghurajpur International Art and Craft Exchange is hosting more than 20 international artistes.

The festival, which was supposed to start on October 12, was rescheduled because of Phailin and commenced on Tuesday.

During the five-week festival, the international artistes will learn the crafts such as pattachitra, palm leaf carving, stone and wood carving and painting the traditional Ganjapa playing cards that flourish at the village.

Some of the enthusiasts are taking lessons in performing arts such as Gotipua, Odissi, Naga dance, Ghoda Nacha (horse dance) and fire dance. The artistes are here to learn the basics of these art and craft forms from the experts at the village.

A regular at the festival, Ben, a 65-year-old calligraphy artiste, who hails from the US, is dedicatedly learning palm leaf carving this year.

“I have attended the last two editions as well and picked up a few Indian art forms. Playing with alphabets is very different from painting on palm leaves. I am trying to use my calligraphy skills on this art form and hoping that by the end of workshop I will be able to create something innovative and striking,” said Ben. Carrol Humel from the US is acting as the international co-ordinator. The workshop begins at 10am and continues till 5pm every day.

Many artistes are learning how to play the harmonium from Smita Sahoo.

“The spirit is amazing. They are exuding great discipline,” she said. Smita, a disciple of legendary vocalist Shyamamani Devi is also imparting lessons in singing.

Kshitish Das, an artiste and one of the organisers of the festival, sounded delighted with the progress of the festival. “The artistes, their trainers and the villagers do not have a common language to communicate. They all interact with the language of painting, music and dance. The guests learn the art forms with utmost passion and in the evenings they go out for sightseeing,” said the 27-year-old painter.

The festival also gives the artistes an opportunity to interact with the master craftsmen of the heritage village. The Union and state tourism and culture departments are sponsoring the festival. It concludes on November 19.