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Socio-economic condition, welfare schemes, and occupational structure of ‘

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Socio-economic condition, welfare schemes, and

occupational structure of ‘pattachitra’ artisans in
Odisha, India

Pallavi Kanungo, Narayan Sethi & Pritam Biswal

To cite this article: Pallavi Kanungo, Narayan Sethi & Pritam Biswal (2020): Socio-economic
condition, welfare schemes, and occupational structure of ‘pattachitra’ artisans in Odisha, India,
Creative Industries Journal

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CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL
https://doi.org/10.1080/17510694.2020.1775029

Socio-economic condition, welfare schemes, and

occupational structure of ‘pattachitra’ artisans in
Odisha, India
Pallavi Kanungo, Narayan Sethi and Pritam Biswal
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela,
Odisha, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The aim of this paper is to examine the socio-economic condi- Received 25 June 2019
tions, welfare schemes, and occupational structure among patta- Accepted 24 May 2020
chitra artisans in Puri district, Odisha (Eastern India). This study
also tries to identify several barriers in the contemporary scenario, KEYWORDS
which hinders the sustainability of craft by limiting artisan’s liveli- Welfare schemes;
occupation; pattachitra;
hood. The field survey assisted in representing both the quantita- handicraft; artisans; Odisha
tive and qualitative results. With the use of purposive sampling,
the sample size is 112 respondents (n) out of 350 total population
(N). The application of inconsistency test, attribution theory, and
correlation assisted in data analysis. The results indicate that low
capital base, less decision-making power in the hands of women
artisans, interference of machine products, and the problem of
intermediaries block the development of this traditional craft in
the current era. This study will be helpful for policymakers to
understand the barriers encountered by traditional artisans. It pro-
vides suggestions concerning subsidy on raw materials, establish-
ing fair price wholesale shops, giving financial support to build
showrooms, initiating hassle-free promotional activities, and
others to generate a sound and sustainable livelihood for the arti-
sans. The uniqueness of this study lies in its qualitative findings
that are unknown, and it is necessary to bring it to the forefront.

1. Introduction
The handicraft of a country expresses the unique culture, tradition, and customs of its
citizens. Apart from agriculture, the handicraft production is the next most desirable
avenues of earning livelihood (Barber and Krivoshlykova 2006). In India, these handi-
crafts not only limit themselves to the arena of exporting commodity or tourist attrac-
tion but also generate the growth of a rural region. In the informal sector of India,
handicrafts secure a significant role in the economy so to generate employment for
the vulnerably scattered population (Jena 2010; Chakraborty 2013). However, the rural
handicrafts have a mixed nature of prospects in India, wherein, other crafts receive
the least documentation and concern. Keeping this context in mind, the present study

CONTACT Pallavi Kanungo pallavikanungo11@gmail.com

ß 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

analyzes the barriers prevailing in the handicraft sector of Odisha—the Eastern State
in India. Being a famous State for its marine activities, it also has a variety of crafts
such as stone carving, textile industries, brass, terracotta, including pattachitra. Many
of these handicrafts have their roots in Hindu mythology, and they are a blend of
beauty and utility. These crafts still exist in the digital era because it struggles to keep
a balance between modern and traditional needs (Dasgupta and Chandra 2016).
Likewise, artisans also struggle day and night to sustain their ancestral practices.
Despite regular hard work, these artisans fail to receive the desired attention (Das
1982). Even the unequal allocation of funds and priorities on a few significant crafts in
Odisha narrows the prospects. By emphasizing this context, the paper selects to study
the contemporary situation of one of the handicrafts of Odisha i.e. ‘Pattachitra’1 craft
of Raghurajpur village under Puri district. Raghurajpur is a village in India, where every
household members are involved in practicing multiple crafts like palm leaf and patta-
chitra paintings, tussar paintings on saree, eco-friendly toys made of cow dung and
papier-m^ach e; others are wood carving, wooden toys and stone carving (Kanungo,
Sethi, and Biswal 2020). However, the passion for pattachitra practices remains pre-
dominant. Presently, the craft has its presence on the walls of lounges, in outlines of
cutlery, dress materials and so on. The rise in globalization contributes to the global
outreach by broadening its scope of commercial pursuit. It has the potential to trans-
form the unemployed mass into its self–employment and creative field. Sadly, the
timeless craft and its artisan are not free from the barriers of socio-economic condi-
tions, welfare, and occupational structure.
This paper systematically examines the conditions of the socio-economic status of
artisans, their reachability to welfare schemes, and the continuing occupational struc-
ture. This study is essential to identify the barriers and plan feasible actions before the
situation compels the art and artisans to go extinct. This paper arranges itself into six
sections, including the introduction. Section 2 elucidates an overview of pattachitra
craft based on the existing barriers and discovers the earlier research gaps. Section 3
discusses the details of primary and secondary data, use of methods ad the study
area. Section 4 comprises of results and analysis, section 5 is the discussion of the pre-
sent study, and final section 6 provides the conclusion and recommendations of
the study.

2. Literature review on pattachitra paintings

Various earlier researches consider the Sanskrit language as the origin of the term
‘Patta,’ i.e. ‘a plain surface or a fabric’ (Chakrabarti 2008). This craft has its mention in
the fable called ‘Chitralakshana’2 and had its use in propagating Buddhism culture in
the state- Odisha. This art combines two significant terms, firstly, ‘Patta’ which denotes
the surface, base (palm-leaf, cloth, wood, bottle and others) suitable for drawing
designs and second is ‘Chitra’ which denotes the graphic representation. According to
the traditional patta artisans, this craft has originated from Puri, which expresses the
holiness of the renowned Jagannath temple. Earlier studies show that the evolution of
art probably began at early twelfth century A.D., presenting its leading association in
the bathing service of the Lord Jagannath, known as ‘Debasnaana Purnimaa’3 and in
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 3

rituals like ‘Ansara Patti’4 (Pathy 1990; Samantaray 2005; Mohanty 2011; Kanungo
2013). The local people use the term ‘Chitrakara’5 for the traditional patta artisans’
(Pasayat 2006).
Pattachitra has a symbolic charisma, and its minute detail highlights the creativity
stored in it. The artisans use the roots of screw pine and hair of rat or squirrel to
make a primitive brush known as Tuli or ‘Kia Kathi’6 to illustrate the details on patta
canvas. They use pigments from vegetables as natural colors for painting (Mohapatra
2005). As the creativity of the artisans is meaningful, inversely, such traditional crafts
do not receive equal attention as a means of suitable income source. Undeniably, it
receives attention as a source of appreciation, which creates interest among the cus-
tomers, but the same is never converted to benefits of artisans (Akinbogun and
Ogunduyile 2009; V€a€an€anen and Po €ll€anen 2020). In addition, modernization, encroach-
ment of machines, low customer profile, and stiff competition has compelled them to
leave their traditional tools and practices (Tripathy 1998; Jena 2010; Menon 2010). As
the art treasures the socio-cultural sides of Odisha, it prevents the substitution of
materials due to their deeply rooted beliefs in sacred practices; moreover, its extinc-
tion could be a loss for the popular chariot festival namely ‘Rathayatra’ (Das 2013;
Sankaran 2018). Being the caste-based occupation, it binds the skill and identity of the
artisans; however, at present, the patta artisans are in a crossroad because the art is in
the margin of revival or extinction (Jena 2007; Mullick and Das 2014).
Earlier studies recognize that the combination of innovation and traditional skill
can sustain the art, but the low socio-economic status, deprivation from welfare
measures and unstable occupation has kept them away from any progress. For the
traditional artisans, their inherited skills is the ultimate asset on which they depend
entirely for their means of support. Traditional artisans have become the victims of
globalisation, and it has led to the disengagement of artisans from their art. Even
the skill development schemes promoted by various regimes in India is still unparal-
leled with the entrepreneurship mechanism needed for traditional artisans.
Moreover, uneven information about the traditional artisans and no specific database
on their socio-economic status creates barrier in initiating any traget based recovery
programmes (Handique 2010; Dash 2011; Sankaran 2018). Hence, the potential for
upward mobility among the artisans remains untapped. Similarly, the low capital and
lack of savings affect the art financially and it challenges to retain the relationship
between the maker and their origin (Mohapatra and Dash 2011; Pollanen 2013).
Even no recognition for the equally hard-working female artisans (Dash 2016; Rath
2014) disrupt the path of gender equality and sustainability. As the traditional know-
ledge of artisans is ‘inherited, shared, and practised’ from micro to macro level, this
makes it challenging to implement intellectual property rights on their inherited
learning and skills. No copyright on designs severely affects the genuine work (Bendi
and Pany 2017; Sankaran 2018) by making them vulnerable to intermediaries. As
Raghurajpur has no industrial back up, the village depends on this ancestral craft
practice. Despite the irreplaceable association among artisan, craft, and sustainability,
very few researches on pattachitra has yet explored its link with socio-economic,
welfare and occupation. Moreover, this handicraft has lesser recognition in inter-
national research for which it lacks a wider scope of research ideas. Earlier studies
4 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

on pattachitra have limited their emphasis to only historical backdrop, or the overall
traditional handicrafts in Odisha, so it omits the plea of pattachitra artisans in par-
ticular and lacks the debate on their future prospects. V€a€an€anen and Po
€ll€anen (2020)
in their study rightly mentioned that both the economic and social (local culture,
identity) viability play a vital role (Bouette and Magee 2015; Zhan et al. 2017) in
attaining the sustainability of craft. Hence, it becomes pertinent to align the socio-
economic, welfare and occupational structure in an integrated structure so to con-
tribute efficiently to the life of the artisans in general.

3. Data and methods

As per monthly bulletin on Foreign Trade (2020), the handicraft (excl. handmade car-
pets) exports from India was only 1838.08 million dollar during 2018–2019 and had a
minimal change of 0.81 percent from the previous year 2017–2018. Moreover, it has a
negative change of –0.18 percent during Apr 2019-to-Jan 2020. For overall products,
Odisha has 2 percent of share in India’s export but the growth rate is 8 percent, which
indicates the scope for development and it has better position than other states
(Monthly Bulletin on Foreign Trade, 2020). However, pattachitra has not gained popu-
larity among foreign countries; very few exports are present relating to this craft in
comparison to imports. In addition, negative growth is a cause of concern for the live-
lihoods of small-scale artisans. To collect the specific secondary data on pattachitra,
authors selected the most similar handicrafts belonging to its group. By using the HS
codes from the given total 167 codes by EPCH, authors extracted the export and
import details (ITC HS Code—Indian handicrafts data available as on April 2020;
Export Promotion Council for Handicraft (EPCH) - D&B, 2005). The data is for over
the past five years (category wise) collected from the Ministry of Commerce &
Industry, Government of India. These handicrafts based on 8-digit level are as fol-
lows: 46021919—palm-leaf items other than baskets; 97011090—others-paintings,
drawings & pastels, and 48237030—articles made of paper mache other than artware
(EPCH-ITC HS Code—Indian handicrafts online list available as on April 2020) (see
Table 1).
Similarly, grassroots data also supports the current study. For undertaking this, the
primary study area is Raghurajpur village, also known as ‘The Heritage Village’ in
Odisha. The village has a unique collection of handmade crafts, which represents the
custom of Odisha. This study considers five districts in Odisha under the selection of
universe of the study; they are Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Khordha, and Puri
because it represents the maximum number of pattachitra artisans (Survey by the
Directorate of Handicraft and Cottage Industries conducted during the year 2001–2002
(dhorissa.nic. in 2001–2002, 2005). Finally, selection of Puri is justifiable because of the
following reasons:

1. Except for Puri, other districts had no consistency in similar forms of crafts.
Moreover, the artisans of Puri are the main descendants of chitrakara caste.
2. Khordha on a competitive note had only the artists belonging to the businessper-
son category and not the traditional ones.
Table 1. India’s export-import data on Pattachitra associated handicrafts from India (five years).
India’s export India’s export India’s export
Palm leaf items other then baskets Others-paintings, drawings, pastels Articles of paper-mache (excl. artware and wood pulp)

201–2014 Share% 2014–2015 Share% %Growth 2013–2014 Share% 2014–2015 Share% %Growth 2013–2014 Share% 2014–2015 Share% %Growth
644.12 0.0003 1,069.25 0.0006 66 46,862.46 0.0246 66,539.16 0.0351 41.99 479.89 0.0003 486.36 0.0003 1.35
190,501,108.86 189,634,841.76 (–0.45) 190,501,108.86 189,634,841.76 (–0.45) 190,501,108.86 189,634,841.76 (–0.45)
2014–2015 Share% 2015–2016 Share% %Growth 2014–2015 Share% 2015–2016 Share% %Growth 2014–2015 Share% 2015–2016 Share% %Growth
1,069.25 0.0006 1,521.81 0.0009 42.33 66,539.16 0.0351 57,712.59 0.0336 (–13.27) 486.36 0.0003 809.71 0.0005 66.49
189,634,841.76 171,638,440.44 (–9.4) 189,634,841.76 171,638,440.44 –9.49 189,634,841.76 171,638,440.44 (–9.4)
2015–2016 Share% 2016–2017 Share% %Growth 2015–2016 Share% 2016–2017 Share% %Growth 2015–2016 Share% 2016–2017 Share% %Growth
1,521.81 0.0009 3,073.58 0.0017 101.97 57,712.59 0.0336 113,960.53 0.0616 97.46 809.71 0.0005 711.28 0.0004 –12.16
171,638,440.44 184,943,355.34 7.75 171,638,440.44 184,943,355.34 7.75 171,638,440.44 184,943,355.34 7.75
2016–2017 Share% 2017–2018 Share% %Growth 2016–2017 Share% 2017–2018 Share% %Growth 2016–2017 Share% 2017–2018 Share% %Growth
3,073.58 0.0017 4,730.17 0.0024 53.9 113,960.53 0.0616 40,936.35 0.0209 (–64.08) 711.28 0.0004 944.3 0.0005 32.76
184,943,355.34 195,651,452.80 5.79 184,943,355.34 195,651,452.80 5.79 184,943,355.34 195,651,452.80 5.79
2017–2018 Share% 2018–2019 Share% %Growth 2017–2018 Share% 2018–2019 Share% %Growth 2017–2018 Share% 2018–2019 Share% %Growth
4,730.17 0.0024 7,056.35 0.0031 49.18 40,936.35 0.0209 45,994.34 0.0199 12.36 944.3 0.0005 900.03 0.0004 (–4.69)
195,651,452.80 230,772,619.38 17.9 195,651,452.80 230,772,619.38 17.95 195,651,452.80 230,772,619.38 17.95
India’s Import India’s Import India’s Import
2013–2014 Share% 2014–2015 Share% %Growth 2013–2014 Share% 2014–2015 Share% %Growth 2013–2014 Share% 2014–2015 Share% %Growth
69.54 0 13.66 0 (–80.36) 14,653.99 0.0054 32,925.51 0.012 124.69 3.28 0 23.35 0 611.79
271,543,390.74 273,708,657.84 0.8 271,543,390.74 273,708,657.84 0.8 271,543,390.74 273,708,657.84 0.8
2014–2015 Share% 2015–2016 Share% %Growth 2014–2015 Share% 2015–2016 Share% %Growth 2014–2015 Share% 2015–2016 Share% %Growth
13.66 0 35.01 0 156.32 32,925.51 0.012 55,296.02 0.0222 67.94 23.35 0 2.28 0 (–90.23)
273,708,657.84 249,030,553.78 (–9.02) 273,708,657.84 249,030,553.78 (–9.02) 273,708,657.84 249,030,553.78 (–9.02)
2015–2016 Share% 2016–2017 Share% %Growth 2015–2016 Share% 2016–2017 Share% %Growth 2015–2016 Share% 2016–2017 Share% %Growth
35.01 0 11.43 0 (–67.35) 55,296.02 0.0222 77,540.82 0.0301 40.23 2.28 0 2.09 0 (–8.22)
249,030,553.78 257,767,536.68 3.51 249,030,553.78 257,767,536.68 3.51 249,030,553.78 257,767,536.68 3.51
2016–2017 Share% 2017–2018 Share% %Growth 2016–2017 Share% 2017–2018 Share% %Growth 2016–2017 Share% 2017–2018 Share% %Growth
11.43 0 46.88 0 310.12 77,540.82 0.0301 29,164.52 0.0097 (–62.39) 2.09 0 44.32 0 2,017.36
257,767,536.68 300,103,343.35 16.42 257,767,536.68 300,103,343.35 16.42 257,767,536.68 300,103,343.35 16.42
2017–2018 Share% 2018–2019 Share% %Growth 2017–2018 Share% 2018–2019 Share% %Growth 2017–2018 Share% 2018–2019 Share% %Growth
46.88 0 102.29 0 118.2 29,164.52 0.0097 52,962.12 0.0147 81.6 44.32 0 7.87 0 (–82.24)
300,103,343.35 359,467,461.19 19.78 300,103,343.35 359,467,461.19 19.78 300,103,343.35 359,467,461.19 19.78
Source: Import-Export Data Bank—Ministry of Commerce & Industry-Department of Commerce (GoI), https://commerce-app.gov.in/eidb/default.asp.
Note: 2019–2020 (Apr–Jan not included because it is provisional and subject to change
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL

Values in Rs. Lacs; percentage growth inside the parentheses are negative growth.
5
6 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

3. The study seeks to address those traditional patta artisans with common traits in
the same occupation to meet reliability. Therefore, Puri is a suitable study area.
4. As pattachitra originated from Raghurajpur village, so clearly selecting this village
for primary study will witness a greater significance.
5. As per Department of Handloom, Textile & Handicrafts-Odisha 2017-18-Outcome
budget the data shows that Puri is having only seashell training centre instead of
pattachitra training facility. It is essential to neutralize the misconception that Puri
is famous for only seashell or applique work; it has also treasured pattachitra.
6. Lastly, the traditional artisans and the village history have deep-outlooks, which
can assist the results of the selected objectives (Kanungo, Sethi, and Biswal 2020)
(see Table 2).

During the primary data collection, there were 150 households with 350 population
in Raghurajpur village. With the use of purposive sampling, the study selected the sam-
ple rate at 30 percent of total 350 population (N), resulting to 112 sample respondents
(n). This study comprises in-depth interview and participatory observations; it adapts the
inconsistency test, attribution theory, and correlation test to analyze the data. The social
indicators shows that patta artisans majorly belong to the Hindu religion. Of the total
respondents, 80 percent belong to general, and remaining is OBC category. The percent-
age of male and female artisans was 63.4 percent and 36.6 percent respectively.
Household chores, secondary work, and no leading role in the craft practice create a
wide gender participation gap and decline the progress of female.
Being a caste-based craft practice, it is also a family-centric occupation i.e. majority of
57 percent households belong to the joint family system (see Table 3). As the pattachitra
creates few scopes for means of earning, it also reflects the influence of joint family on
the pattern of income and expenditure. Within the family system, income plays a crucial
role not only in satisfying monetary needs but also motivates to work hard. However,
pattachitra, artisans have to bear the pressure of low income. The data reveals that 54
percent of artisans are under an income slab of `2,000 to `6,000, while 14 percent are in
a vulnerable state. Only few artisans have an income range of `10,000 and above, espe-
cially, the middlemen-cum-businessmen. In-depth discussion reveals that 6 percent of
artisans are in critical state of livelihood (where annual income from all sources is below
`20,000) and they are at mercy of relatives’ favors. Only 53 percent of artisans have well
off condition, and the rest are businesspersons with sound capital. The data clearly shows
that very few can afford extravagant spending between `10,000 to `12,000. Additionally,
the five years comparison of income status shows that the majority have a stagnant
income with no progress. The results clearly confirm that their monthly income is unsat-
isfactory in the current trend. Only a handful of artisans, especially the businesspersons
(not the traditional artisans) are in better off situation (see Table 3).
The second objective i.e. occupational structure represents the backbone of socio-
economic conditions. It is a vital for sustaining one’s passion, practice, and trad-
itional skill. Findings for this objective show that most of the artisans have inherited
this craft traditionally, especially from their ancestors. As the village has no industrial
back up and keeping tourist attraction in mind, the artisans in the age group of
21–39 years have adopted this occupation as their last resort. Within this
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 7

Table 2. Profile of Pattachitra craft and artisans in districts of Odisha.

A. Number of artisans and average annual production in selected districts
Palm-leaf craft PAPER-MACHE CRAFT Patta & Tussar painting
Name of district
Percentage Percentage Percentage
No. of artisans of production No. of artisans of production No. of artisans of production
Khordha 67 3.20 40 1.15 364 42.09
Kendrapara 478 16.04 – – 141 4.63
Bhadrak 282 5.73 20 0.15 10 0.51
Puri 213 6.73 42 0.46 145 33.70
Jagatsinghpur 246 9.86 18 0.24 12 1.06

B. Number of craft-clusters in Puri district

Sl.no. Name of handicraft Name of clusters
1 Pattachitra Raghurajpur, Dandasahi, Chandanpur, Puri, Balanga, Nimapara & Puri Sadar
2 Palm-leaf product Puri town, Krushnapada block, Raghurajpur
3 Paper Macche Raghurajpur, Dandasahi, Puri town
4 Palm-leaf engraving Raghurajpur, Chandanpur, Puri, Balanga, Dandasahi, & Puri Sadar
C. Number of craft-clusters in Puri district
Organization Training centre location Craft Intake capacity
State level (SIDAC) Bhubaneswar Stone carving, wood 160
carving, applique,
Terracotta, palm leaf
and Pattachitra
District level: Ankula & Kenduli Pattachitra 10 each (total 20)
Cuttack & Khordha
Source: (A) The Directorate of Handicraft and Cottage Industry, Survey 2001–2002; (B) District Industries Center, Puri
Branch (dhorissa.nic.in 2001–2002, 2005); (C) Department of Handloom, Textile & Handicrafts, Odisha 2017-18-
Outcome budget.

occupational structure, the practices has three essential classifications i.e. artists prac-
ticing pattachitra on a permanent basis, actual full-time worker and assisting artisan.
Some artisans also have seasonal involvement in this craft practice and they have
two categories i.e. an active season and a seasonally non-active month. Responses
on this information shows very less number of artisans involve in seasonal work,
especially during the month of April–June and July–September. Mainly the dece-
dents of chitrakara community involve in seasonal practices especially during Rath
Yatra and festivals of village deity. The remaining artisans have a busy schedule for
the whole year, which indeed depends on the tourists’ inflow and customer base.
On the other hand, data on non-active involvement show that 31 percent of artisans
have no seasonal halt. While 10 percent of artisans pause their practices during win-
ter season. In addition, the data also reveals the presence of intermediaries at the
village level. Of the total, 26.8 percent artisans disagree, and the rest were reluctant
to give response about intermediaries (see Table 4).
Data for the last objective shows how well the artisans have utilized the welfare meas-
ures. The primary data depict that 31 percent of artisans are under poverty and 12 per-
cent are totally in a deprived state. Under housing facilities, most of the artisans reside in
their ancestral property, and electricity was accessible to every household. Besides, the vil-
lage has a sanitation facility and has no open defecation. As stated by artisans, they have
adequate access to water resources, as the village has ponds and water facilities for each
house. Moreover, the educational status of households indicates that the artisans need to
strengthen their education simultaneously with their traditional practice (see Table 5).
8 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

Table 3. Profile of socio-economic conditions of artisans in the study area.

Household features In percent Household features In percent
Caste Income per/month
General 80 Less than 2000 14
OBC 20 2000–6000 54
Total 100 6000–10,000 19
10,000 and above 13
Sub-caste Total 100
Maharana 41
Mahapatra 26 Monthly expenditure
Swain 13 Below 2000 17
Others 20 2000–8,000 59
Total 100 8,000–10,000 14
10,000–12,000 4
Gender above 12,000 6
Male 63.4 Total 100
Female 36.6
Total 100 Annual income (all sources)
Below 20,000 6
Marital status 21,000–81,000 31
Single 25 82,000–1,42,000 53
Married 63 1,43,000–2,03000 8
Widow 12 2,03,000 and above 2
Total 100 Total 100

Family type Religion

Joint 57 Hindu 112
Extended 29 Total 100
Nuclear 13
Others 1
Joint 57
Total 100
Two-dimensional analysis of artisans based on age, gender, and work participation
Gender (in percent)
Age Male Female
Less than 20 % within the age of the respondent 55.6 44.4
21–39 58.3 41.7
40–59 65.9 34.1
60–79 76.9 23.1
Above 80 100 0.0
Total Total count 71 41
% Percent 63.4% 36.6%

Five years comparison of income status (qualitative analysis)

Yearly revenue Current position Percentage
Increasing Improved 14%
Unchanged No progress 52%
Declining Getting worse 25%
No Idea Can’t Say 9%
Total 100
Source: Primary data and authors’ calculation.

4. Results and analysis

The socio-economic profile in the data and method section clearly shows the lingering
stratification in the caste-based occupation, i.e. the authority, domination, and trad-
itional link. Moreover, we learned that the family bearing Maharana and Mahapatra
titles are actual patta artisans and descendants of the chitrakara caste. From the
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 9

Table 4. Profile of occupational structure.

Profile of occupational structure
Pattachitra practices inherited by artisans from family members
Practices inherited
Age of respondent Current Traditional Total
>20 5 4 9
21–39 13 35 48
40–59 13 28 41
60–79 3 10 13
above 80 0 1 1
Total 34 78 112

Occupational variables In percent Occupational variables In percent

Seasonal active month Non-active season
Apr–June 27 Monsoon 59
July–Sept 5 Winter 10
None 68 None 31
Total 100 Total 100
Expertise in pattachitra Satisfaction level
Palm-leaf 19 Yes 40
Cloth 33 No (Reasons)-:
Coconut 19 Long Working Hours 12
Bottle 22 Poor Income 17
Others 7 Lack of Financial Support 17
Total 100 Against Own Interest 14
Total 100
Presence of middlemen Use of labour
Yes 43.7 Less than 5 16.9
No 26.8 5–15 8.9
Can’t say 29.5 None 74.1
100 Total 100

Number of Years Spent in Craft Practices & Type of Patta Artisan

Artisan type (frequency)
Sub-division Occupation (in yr)
Permanent Temporary Frequency in total
Involvement as full-time 4–8 4 0 4
8–12 12 1 13
12–16 17 0 17
16 & above 26 0 26
Total 59 1 60
Involvement as assistant 4–8 11 1 12
8–12 5 0 5
12–16 14 4 18
16 & above 11 6 17
Total 41 11 52
Grand Total 100 12 112
Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

findings, it is clear that at the initial stage, the young mass have an equal opportunity
for participation in this craft. However, the gap widens gradually with their increasing
age. It justifies that the marriage of girls in their 20s bring a limited opportunity in
their participation i.e. they remain confined to only secondary work. Additionally, this
decline in contribution also results due to routine involvement in household tasks.
Hence, positioning the female artisans in the inferior roles hardly gives them the
opportunity to think it as a prospect for self-employment.
10 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

Table 5. Profile of welfare schemes.

Profile of welfare schemes
Variables In percent Variables In percent
Cardholders Provision of electric supply
Rasan Card 57 Yes 99
None 12 No 1
BPL 31 Total 100
Total 100
Water facilities
Sanitation facilities Tap 47
Yes 96 Tube-well 40
No 4 Well 8
Total 100 Others 5
Total 100
Sanitation setup
Pucca 54 Dwelling unit
Thatched 16 Thatched 19
Semi-Pucca 26 Semi-concrete 53
None 4 Concrete 18
Total 100 Tile 10
Total 100
House/property owned
Ancestral property 63 Educational position
Self-acquired 17 Illiterate 33
Rent basis 20 Primary 26
Total 100 Secondary 31
Graduation & above 10
Total 100
Source: Primary Data and Authors’ Calculation

In modern era, we know that the joint family institution is no more customary.
However, this craft has reserved the joint family relations undamaged and with har-
mony. It is so because the artisans need the support and role of everyone in the fam-
ily members; each process has the inevitable involvement of each member. Hence,
this craft is a collaborative process, and it does not require any hiring of external
labor. This crucial factor differentiates the traditional artisans from their business coun-
terparts, where the latter hires with the motive to expand the business and not to sus-
tain the tradition or passion. Similarly, the data on occupational structure describes
the income, expenditure, satisfaction level, and unstable nature of traditional practice.
The findings show that the businesspersons with good income pretend to be the trad-
itional artisans. They are not the primary dwellers of the village but they prefer to res-
ide at the periphery. These businesspersons obtain the finished crafts from the
vulnerable artisans and sell their crafts at an inflated rate. The privilege they get in
residing at the periphery of the village is to grab the attention of tourists and custom-
ers at first sight. Hence, it makes them renowned; as a result, the real efforts of actual
artisans remain unidentified. On the other side, the low earning artisans have expend-
iture more than their income, which creates pressure both on household and occupa-
tional needs. The businesspersons spend on hi-tech facilities to maintain the privileges
of the clientele base; they have craft display-units at home professionally equipped
with CCTV. In addition, their sound capital supports them in building liaisons with the
tour escorts and agencies so to have a first and direct contact with the customers or
tourists. Inconsistent earnings and incapability to spend among the real artisans highly
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 11

Figure 1. Nature of pattachitra.

Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

discourages them to continue their practice or improve their livelihood. Such a vulner-
able situation pushes them to survive on kin’s favor. From the above analysis, it
appears that all the barriers in socio-economic status put a cumulative pressure on
the income, customer linkage, family, and occupation of the artisans.
The findings on the three classification of artisans describe that the fully involved
artisans are the sole proprietor of their patta business, while assisting artisans’ just act
as helping hands. These assistants help them in making colors, preparing the shapes
of the canvas, and drawing the boundary of pictures on canvas. However, permanent
artisans have more experience than full-time artisans do. These permanent artisans
have their full involvement in every process of making pattachitra, e.g. starting from
deciding the canvas, designs, color combination, storyline, maintaining the customer
base, and so on; they do not delegate their work. Similarly, there are temporary arti-
sans also, who consider art as their secondary occupation. Besides the social factor,
the findings of occupational structure can relate to the dominance of male as full-time
artisans. Female artisans have only assisting roles in this craft. Hence, the partial
involvement of one gender blocks the development of not only craft, but also the cre-
ativity of female artisans and the craft’s sustainability. Under their practices, some arti-
sans halt the process of applying color and preparing of canvas especially in winter
and monsoon, because they are precise about the quality of canvas. They believe that
during monsoon the canvas will deteriorate because of salinity and humidity in the
air. Moreover, the undried ones will fail to keep the colors intact for the long-term.
Similarly, some artisans halt their work in winter so to protect their canvas from the
moisture and fog.
As the prime canvas of pattachitra is cloth and palm leaf, for this, the artisans have
much expertise level in it for its availability and affordability. On the contrary, current
artisans have lower expertise levels in palm leaf because it is outdated, and artisans
practice it rarely. Apart from expertise level, the findings reveal that the majority of
artisans have less self-satisfaction and the pressure grows gradually due to the reasons
such as low earnings, few financial back-ups, and constant labor with hardly any rec-
ognition or secured incentives. The occupational structure also proclaims the negli-
gence in the craft making process due to family conflicts. This compels the artisans to
hire external labors to accomplish their work before the deadline. Additionally, inter-
mediaries hamper the simple life of artisans. Some artisans showed their reluctance to
12 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

Table 6. Correlation between Process of Purchasing Canvas and Source of Procurement.

Correlation between the Process of Purchasing Canvas and Source of Procurement
X 5 Process of purchasing canvas The process of
Y 5 Sources from where the canvas is procured Canvas purchased from purchasing canvas
Spearman’s Source of Correlation coefficient 1.000 .288**
correlation purchasing canvas Sig. (2-tailed) . .002
coefficient N 112 112
Process of Correlation .288** 1.000
purchasing canvas Coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .
N 112 112

Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

Note:

Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); X ¼ Independent Variable, Y ¼ Dependent Variable.

give their response due their high dependency on intermediaries for petty earnings
and for a peaceful village relationship. This depicts the artisan’s weakness to eliminate
intermediaries because the vulnerable artisans get assistance during financial emer-
gencies. Similarly, on analyzing the nature of this craft, the artisans believe that the
craft majorly depends on the choice of customers, and at the same time, making this
craft is very time-consuming. It demands overtime, more capital, and pressure on the
body. Apart from monetary requirements, the rest agree that the art needs non-mon-
etary investment i.e. long-hours of stress on the body and repetitive attention during
the process makes their work tiresome; moreover, any mistake will lead to total waste
(see Figure 1).
Upon realizing the problems on unmanageable expenditure on raw materials, this
paper employs a correlation method. The reason behind this analysis is to minimize
their expenditure, make them realize the right way of purchasing materials to save fur-
ther. For the analysis, the process of purchasing canvas is the independent variable. It
says whether the raw material procured in a larger share, depends on the product
demand, and based on cheaper cost or as per one’s own or customers need. The
source of canvas procurement is a dependent variable, which says, whether the pur-
chase of material is from an intermediaries, wholesaler, home, and retailer. Hence, a
growing relationship exists with a p-value of 0.002. As the positive correlation exists
between the variables, artisans need to put emphasis towards the source and means
of acquiring raw material so to remain beneficial. Their first preference must be a
wholesale or government-owned shop to minimize expenses and produce more sav-
ings (see Table 6). However, such wholesale shops providing every raw material for
the pattachitra crafts are rare.
In addition to the purchase factor, the data also pulled responses to analyze the
choice of supply channels. Findings show that the female artisans with limited oppor-
tunities often opt for intermediaries in comparison to males. On the other way, the
dominant male artisans influence the female artisans in making decisions, and few
families restrict the mobility of females. Consequently, it results in lesser participation,
and to overcome these barriers, female artisans sell their products through intermedia-
ries to earn for livelihood. On the contrary, freedom of movement enables the male
counterparts to sell their canvas by themselves in the village or local market. On an
equal note, the artisans prefer to have quality arrangements of fair and exhibition;
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 13

Figure 2. The choice of supply channels based on gender.

Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

while only a few utilize the benefits of selling through the government shops (see
Figure 2).
The problems of limited income to meet family expenses, gender gap and low cap-
ital investment have encouraged intermediaries. Such a vulnerable scenario forced to
measure the sustainability of this traditional occupation. The study employs attribute
theory to look into the selected variables and their association with each other. By
using the Yule’s coefficient of association, responses were classified into two catego-
ries: (i) Sustainable and (ii) Unsustainable. Education as the central theme remained
crucial to check the sustainability of the craft by taking two components, i.e. (i)
Literate and (ii) Illiterate between two counterparts, i.e. male and female. The associ-
ation of attributes showed that for males, the Q value is –0.19 (i.e., Q > 0.5), a low
degree of negative association exists between literacy and sustainability. Whereas for
females, the Q value is 0.41 (i.e., Q < 0.5), so a low degree of positive association exists
between the two attributes. Hence, it concludes that in both cases, there is no associ-
ation between artisans’ literacy (A) and sustainability (B) but it has association between
genders (see Table 7). Education being an individual right must go hand-in-hand with
the traditional craft to generate the sense of entrepreneurship, understanding the
right choice of materials and production, creativity, gender parity, and a thought of
sustainability in the digital era.
The results from the last objective of the paper reveal the pressures of non-func-
tioning of welfare schemes, which devalues their development. The findings show that
most of the artisans are below the poverty line, and 12 percent are in deprived condi-
tion. The role of intermediaries also obstructs the deserved ones in getting benefits
from welfare measures. Under the welfare scheme, the intermediaries use forged ways
in registering the name of politically dominant members in return for money.
Moreover, people in well-off status also use fraudulent strategies to get added bene-
fits. As the craft is caste-based and joint family-centered occupation, most of the arti-
sans reside in their ancestral property. Even electricity is available to every household.
Unlike businessmen, the real artisans do not use any machinery products for printing
or preparing pattachitra, so they have an optimal utilization of electricity. Every house-
hold has sanitation, and they are properly maintained because the village is a tourist
14 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

Table 7. Measuring sustainability by Attribute Theory.

Measuring sustainability by Attribute Theory
Male N 5 71 A 5 46 AB 5 16 aB 5 11 a b 5 14 Ab 5 30
Female N 5 41 A 5 29 AB 5 13 aB 5 3 ab59 Ab 5 16
Note:
A 5 Literate (Both male and female frequencies were taken); B 5 Sustainable
a 5 Illiterate (Both male and female frequencies were taken); b 5 Unsustainable
Solution: Compute Yule’s coefficient of Association:
Q ¼ [(AB) (a b) – (Ab) (aB)] / [(AB) (a b) – (Ab) (aB)]
By substituting the above formula
We get Q (for Male) ¼ [(16)
(14) – (11)
(30)] / [(16)
(14) þ (11)
(30)]
¼ (224 – 330) / (224 þ 330)
¼  106/554 ¼ 20.19
We get: Q (for Female) ¼ [(13)
(9) – (3)
(16)] / (13)
(9) þ (3)
(16)]
¼ (117 – 48) / (117 þ 48)
¼ 69/165 ¼ 0.41
Total Observations ¼ 112.
Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

place. However, a water resource has much use in their household doings, painting,
and washing the canvas, but it is also adequately available to all. Sadly, educational
status of households indicate that these artisans limit their education up until the sec-
ondary level and then inherit these traditional practices either by choice or by compul-
sion. Similarly, the frequency of awareness about pattachitra schemes and training
programs shows that young artisans at their 20 s generally opt for lesser training.
Moreover, the male receives more training in comparison to their female counterparts.
The reasons for less training are (1) focus on formal education and (2) their parents
traditionally impart them the basics. The enrollments in training programs remain
higher among the age group of 21–39 years for the following reasons (1) their agility
to learn extra beyond the traditional training and (2) youths are at the stage of choos-
ing their career path so to develop their family business. However, gradually the
enrollment declines due to reasons like lack of time, repetitions of training module
and clash of schedule (see Table 8).
It is an urgent need to replace the repetitive basic training by the government
agencies to bring innovativeness and novel designs to sustain this craft, so 22 percent
of artisans aspire for innovative training with placement facilities and stable income.
No subsidy for colors or raw materials compel the artisans to use alternatives like syn-
thetic colors instead of natural, to prefer retailers to purchase raw materials, which
causes extra load on their incomes. Such a compromise with the natural colors and
raw materials prevents them from following their traditional process. Due to the
unavailability of subsidy, undue pressure blocks the vulnerable artisans to practice the
craft and sustain it. Majority of artisans want to have a subsidy. Some artisans need
financial aid and a regulated market to bring equality in the village. Moreover, finan-
cial aid can assist them to build a window display room or storehouse to prevent
crafts from unseen accidents and to ensure safety. Only few artisans receive a pension
while some aged groups are deprived and are not aware of the handicraft insurance
schemes. Therefore, it makes them demand for health-related programs for security
(see Figure 3).
Apart from Government assistance, the analysis reveals their participation in fairs
and exhibitions at the national and international context. Majority artisans have no
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 15

Table 8. Crosstabulation of age, gender, enrollment frequency, and non-enrolment.

Number of artisans enrolled in training programme (in frequency)
Sex Age Yes No
Male >20 1 4
21–39 26 2
40–59 11 16
60–79 1 9
Above 80 0 1
Female > 20 1 3
21–39 11 9
40–59 1 13
60–79 0 3
Above 80 0 0
Total 52 60

Reasons for not Enrolling in Training Programmes

Sex Lack of time Lack of information Lack of interest Family problems None Total
Male 11 7 8 6 39 71
Female 7 7 6 8 13 41
Total 18 14 14 14 52 112
Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

Figure 3. Preference for type of government assistance.

Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

Table 9. Respondents participation, fair type, and range of fair attended.

Respondents participation, fair type, and range of fair attended
The range of fair attended in total
Type of fair mostly attended >20 20–60 60–80 80> None Total In percent
International Yes 4 2 3 9 8
National Yes 20 10 15 17 62 55
Both Yes 3 4 5 12 11
None No 29 29 26
Total 20 17 21 25 29 112 100
Percent% 18 15 19 22 26
Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

active involvement at any level of exhibition or fair. There were only 8 percent artisans
with experience of the participation at the international fair and 55 percent at the
national level. However, only 11 percent of artisans have participation at both levels
(see Table 9).
16 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

Table 10. Inconsistency test of participation in fair and exhibition.

Inconsistency test of participation in fair and exhibition
As we know (Given): N 5 112
A ¼ International fair only ¼ 9; B ¼ National fair only ¼ 62
AB ¼ both national and international fair ¼ 12; X ¼ (None have participated in any fair) ¼ 29
Solution: N ¼ 112
Sample units left for checking inconsistency N1 ¼ (N – X), i.e. 112 – 29 ¼ 83
Therefore, the new sample unit N1 ¼ 83
(a b) ¼ N – (A) – (B) þ (AB)
¼ 83 – (9) – (62) þ (12)
¼ 24
Source: Survey data and author’s calculation.

To check the data consistency on the participation in fair and to justify of no exist-
ence of inconsistency or error in data, the study employs the inconsistency test. The
resulted figure shows that as per the criteria of consistency, each frequency is positive;
therefore, the results being positive, the data remains consistent (see Table 10).
As noted that the artisans had lesser participation in both the levels of fairs, it
stood necessary to determine the reasons. As per the tabulation of earnings from
international fair and age wise distribution, the data shows that the maximum artisans
do not get their deserved value. Still, some believe that they could make good earn-
ings from international customers. However, the paper divided their reasons into for
and against of the international fair earnings. The following are the reasons in support
of international fair and earnings—(a) fluent in English or having precise communica-
tion style (b) assistance from local agencies or higher source (c) diplomatic or strategic
alliance with tourism agencies or middlemen (d) strong clientele base and (e) are
renowned businessmen with allied sources to supplement needs. Likewise, the artisans
bearing negative views of earning from the international fairs are (a) non-established
(b) highly dependent on intermediaries (c) have limited contact with customer (d) face
semantic barriers (e) non-active or rarely participate to create liaison in fairs, which
limits their opportunity for promotion of their craft (see Figure 4).
On a similar note, 24 percent of artisans believe that participation in the fair ham-
pers their daily work. In some cases, artisans felt hesitant and doubtful about delegat-
ing their work to an assistant artisan or other family members. Some vulnerable
artisans mentioned that due to no close contacts, they often face geographical barriers
and it hampers their adjustment in the new place. Moreover, incurring inflated trans-
portation costs and other expenses has blocked them to display their craft due to low
earnings. However, the renowned businesspersons do not face any such barriers in
participation, and they have a vast pool of secure networking (see Figure 5).

5. Discussion
Globally, there is a resemblance among various forms of paintings. Among the South
Asian arts, patta painting is one of the indigenous and yet the most colourful one (Ku
2014). Every handicrafts have some similarities with reference to their ethnic roots of
geographical areas, methods of preparation, identity or caste-based/community prac-
tice, gender roles, rituals, and so on. However, every handicrafts are unique in itself for
their different features with reference to artisans such as their social belongings, social
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 17

Figure 4. Earning from international fair and exhibition.

Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

Figure 5. Problems involved in participating in fair and exhibition.

Source: Survey Data and Author’s Calculation.

status, economic strength, inclination towards ancestral practices and so on. Based on
the results, it is clear that pattachitra has a meaningful depiction, which binds the arti-
san with oneself, with family members, their craft and consumer (Pollanen 2013;
Dasgupta and Chandra 2016; Divalakala and Muthian 2017). It creates interlink
between identities, and among stakeholders. Reducing the worth of traditional handi-
craft to various capitals and considering its fundamentals with the machinery produc-
tion ignores the intrinsic aspect i.e. the artisans’ themselves. No proper infrastructure
at occupational unit ultimately degrades the standardization of a product.
Unfortunately, being non-perpetual in nature, preservation of such practices remains
unguarded unless it adapts innovation. Moreover, complete automation will underrate
the heritage by bringing it to the verge of extinction (Akinbogun and Ogunduyile
2009; Ernst & Young 2012; Barrere 2016; Panda 2019). It leaves many traditional arti-
sans to struggle for sustaining their ancestral practices even in the face of stressful
and unstable livelihood.
Upon addressing the interrelated structure i.e. socio-economic, occupational and
welfare measures, various barriers came to the forefront. The socio-economic context
in the paper identifies the dominancy of surnames, i.e. Maharana and Mahapatra that
delimits the progress of craft among others. Such dominance prevents other group of
population to involve in this traditional work; sometimes it limits the delegation of
work. There is a gap of lesser participation among female artisans. Their low
18 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

involvement in primary work and working as subordinate of their husband gets them
no place in developing their own artistic skills. Up to the present-day, women artisans
are still functioning within a male dominated craft culture. As a result, it hinders their
decision-making process and they lack mobility; while, some have gained comfort
with their subsidiary role. As a whole, gender differentiation obstructs sustainability of
this craft (Rogerson 2000; Sirika 2008; Akinbogun and Ogunduyile 2009). On positive
note, this caste-based craft is a space that identifies the role of family-based occupa-
tion and due to the existence of pattachitra craft, most households are in joint family
relations. These artisans work collaboratively with their family members because each
process requires a united participation of all (Bose 2018). The advantage here is that it
deters them from hiring external labor, which evidently, differentiates them from their
business counterparts.
Similarly, their economic status depicts the prevalence of low earnings, smaller sav-
ings, and lack of capital. There are artisans in vulnerable state, who struggle regularly
to meet the needs of their joint family. They also find shortages of raw materials and
fail to purchase it on timely basis to fulfill customer demands. It compels them to quit
their traditional practice. Various schemes and programmes are functional such as
National Handicraft Development Programme (NHDP), Comprehensive Handicrafts
Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS), Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana (AHVY), mar-
keting support and training, State Apex Societies and Insurance schemes. To bridge
the gaps, CSR interventions in the field of skill development of traditional artisans are
also encouraged. However, the fresh project of Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana
(AHVY) sanctioned during 2016–2017 has no sanction for pattachitra related clusters in
Eastern region (data as per Development Commissioner Handicrafts, Ministry of
Textiles (GoI) and the old clusters are there in Bhubaneswar. Undeniably, corporate
agencies and educational institutions use handicraft products for gift purpose, but it
does not guarantee opportunity to every artisans. Besides, the presence of business-
persons and intermediaries at the periphery of the village trick the customers and por-
tray themselves to be the real artisans. Due to this, the actual ones lose their share of
income and stay in a hope to execute their skill. Unlike the high facilities among the
businesspersons, the traditional ones do not have rooms to window display. Their low
capital base and inadequate financing hinders them to generate tie-ups with tour
escorts or transport agencies in promoting the craft. Thus, the poor artisans remain
weak and the undeserved parties take the added privilege. Hence, their well-being
remains unsatisfactory, which results to ‘disenchantment’ among the youths to pursue
this traditional practice as a career. It must have a mechanism to detect the effective-
ness of its costs and quality to make a distinct position in the competitive market
(Jena 2010; Harris 2014; Sankaran 2018). There are few craft clusters for pattachitra
and its powers reside only in the hands of businesspersons. Hence, good governance
for such small-scale craft business is a prerequisite to sustain the traditional crafts
(Nankongnab et al. 2015; Das, Kumar, and Sharma 2020).
Their occupational structure shows that few artisans have seasonal involvement.
Some artisans feel that it is correct to pause their craftwork during monsoon and win-
ter to protect the quality. However, their practice is declining due to the lack of
innovative training. As the paintings have high prospects of creativity (Oyekunle and
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 19

Figure 6. Senior artisans in the village.

Source: Photographed by the author.

Sirayi 2018), they need the systematic interventions on innovative design training to
sustain this craft. Additionally, no check on the prevalence of intermediaries in the vil-
lage has unfolded high dependency. Moreover, the lack of wholesale shops providing
every raw material for the craft is rare. Limited mobility and less decision-making
choices have left the female artisans to depend more on intermediaries. The measure
on the sustainability showed that artisans could sustain their occupation, as it has no
relation with literate or illiterate. However, the artisans need to go beyond the second-
ary level of schooling (Dhingra and Dhingra 2012) because strengthening of education
has a scope to generate a sense of entrepreneurship, can use their resources and
explore their creativity in digital era (Romantsev et al. 2016). Upon inquiry into training
facilities, the expert artisans in the family pass their learnings to each family members,
and this informal learning creates a space for socialization. However, lack of time,
repetitive training module, and the clash of schedule declines their enrolment rate in
formal training. The nature of handicraft occupation demands hours of dedication, art-
istic dexterity, and coordination of locomoter system. With the gradual commercializa-
tion, today these artisans only measure their skills with quantity i.e. more products in
lesser time rather than producing quality products. This creates lack of social security,
lower safety practices, and poor occupational health at the workplace. Sadly, the stiff
competition, lack of capital due, and encroachment of technology devalues the trad-
itional practices. Most authors have pointed out that these barriers demotivate the
young artisans to learn or to contribute any traditional work (Mehra, Mathur, and
Tripathi 2019); however, few attempts made to instill the technological advantage
among demographic dividends.
Moreover, weak market linkages and inadequate access to financial resources
obstructs the progress of traditional artisans, and their cultural traits to bring any cre-
ativity (Wherry 2006). Digitizing such traditional practices and preserving it in museum
will retain the external needs, but it lose the socialization process, disturb the identity
of a community, restrict family bonds and confine to a particular region without any
scope for cultural exchange. Countries need to make inclusive policies to revive the
traditional heritage, then only it can (Prajapati and Biswas 2011; Grobar 2019) expand
20 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

Figure 7. The Dashavatara (ten forms) of Lord Vishnu on pattachitra (left) and Goddess
Durga (right).
Source: Photographed by the author.

the socio-economic benefits to Indian artisans and society at a large. The traditional
artisans wish to have subsidy on raw materials, aspire for innovative training with
placement facilities and stable income, financial aid, regulated market, quality assist-
ance to participate in fairs and exhibitions, and health schemes. Adding to this, it can
help in sustaining the traditional practices as a platform to empower youths by build-
ing their entrepreneurship skills (Rogerson 2000). Government and NGO’s must pay
attention towards creating policies for safeguarding the artisan’s interests. For
example, training on employability skills, particularly in handicraft based rural areas,
will have a significant impact on craft business (Gangopadhyay and Sen 2019). As
young mass often use social platforms, they can assist their parents in social market-
ing. Provision of learning craft process and methods through television, community
radio and e-commerce platforms can absorb a collaborative learning, which can also
value tacit knowledge of artisans (V€a€an€anen and Po €ll€anen 2020). These combined
results can conclude that apart from passion, regimes must look after the socio-eco-
nomic status, welfare measures, and occupational structure in an integrated way so to
derive the real value.

6. Conclusion
The paper elucidates some essential and undisclosed backgrounds related to the trad-
itional craft—pattachitra. On considering the adverse effects of the previously men-
tioned barriers, the following recommendations can assist in preserving and sustaining
the practice. Firstly, the regimes must arrange subsidy on raw materials of pattachitra
to prevent artisans from the use of substitutes. The establishment of a fair price shop
can assist in procuring quality materials at an affordable price and within reachability
can deter burden of expenses. The government must initiate new and resourceful
training sessions in collaboration with worldwide design institutions. This can prevent
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 21

Figure 8. Forms of pattachitra crafts.

Source: Photographed by the author.

the craft from repetitive ideas and can generate creativity sharing platform. In the
digital era, the administration can initiate hassle-free promotional activities to make
this craft more persuasive. In addition, authorities must pay attention towards the
safety of the welfare schemes and crafts because Puri district is one among the disas-
ter prone area (both flood and cyclone). As per the recent super cyclone Fani in 2019,
the non-availability of storerooms, and no safety measures caused many artisans to
bear the damage of their age-old artifacts. Thus, provision of financial aid to the vul-
nerable artisans can assist them in establishing storage facilities. It will not only fulfill
their marketing approaches but also safeguard their hardwork from any unfore-
seen event.
Moreover, a comprehensive online database on pattachitra artisans at regional and
country level can provide a mechanism to monitor their socio-economic status.
Arranging a conscientiously up-to-date record will assist in implementing need-cum-
target based strategies on handicrafts. Likewise, Geographical Indication tags (GIs) can
shield this handicraft and will bring a provision of quality and authenticity to the cus-
tomers. It can act as a safety net for the passion of artisans and in protecting the cul-
tural heritage of nation by preventing intrusion of low-grade materials (Russell 2010;
Grobar 2019). As the study reveals various day-to-day problems in the village, action
by monitoring authorities can strictly govern restrictions on unsupportive elements.
There should be an adequate mechanism or standardized rule of fixing prices of patta
to eliminate any deceiving attempts. Authorities must ensure to prevent village polit-
ics, intermediaries, and disturbances of businesspersons to protect the dignity and
secure the originality of real artisans. They must help the artisans to reach their tar-
geted tourists/customers and help in bringing transparency in the cluster.
22 P. KANUNGO ET AL.

Similarly, a weekly or monthly magazine on novel ideas can encourage the opti-
mism among the artisans to retain their practices. Such magazines must also acknow-
ledge the creativity of artisans to create a sense of identity and recognition. Creating
tourist idea book can lead to an emergence of creative products. The tourist–artisan
interface and strengthening their communication (Mohapatra 2008; Chutia and Sarma
2016) will retain customer base. Besides, the State Government can help in organizing
yearly fest to develop an exchange of ideas and networking. Most importantly, the vil-
lage needs to create awareness among males about empowering female artisans in
developing this craft. Additionally, encourage the State level renowned personalities
to become the brand ambassador to add a brand value. Lastly, health schemes for eld-
erly artisans can assist in continuing their practice, e.g. monthly free eye camps in the
village can screen the elderly artisans with vision impairment. With the collaboration
of artisans, an establishment of pattachitra exhibition hall with high-tech facilities, light
shows, and historical exhibits can attract global tourist. Moreover, the government
must record the frequency of artisans attending fairs so to identify the gaps and chalk
out strategies for full participation. As Odisha handicraft policy 2019 has emphasized
on craft villages, so implementation of recommendations in this study will be helpful
to enhance the entrepreneurship skill among the artisans by creating an inclusive plan
of sustaining the pattachitra craft (see Figures 6–8).

7. Scope for further research

Future research can investigate on the musculoskeletal disorders and health facilities
of pattachitra artisans. It can also bring out the risk and prospects in technological
interventions related to this craft. Moreover, this craft has the potentials of further
research on tourism, financial inclusion, and gender studies. Similar studies referring
with skill development can bring out more projections in the field of entrepreneurship
and self-employment. As the topic limits itself to a major pattachitra production vil-
lage, future studies can consider other places or responses from businesspersons to
have an in-depth analysis. Hence, these scopes offer the researchers to broaden the
concerned topic that will possibly revitalize this craft, and will bring meaningful
transitions.

Notes
1. ‘Patta’ refers to the base (mainly cloth or palm–leaf; presently it is wood, dress, bottle and
so on), or any material that is suitable for drawing designs and second is ‘Chitra’ which
denotes any graphic representation; on completion, the craft is known as ‘Pattachitra.’
2. Chitralakshana is the treatise of painting that defines the measurement, components,
canvas, and colors.
2. An auspicious bathing ceremony of Triad (Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess
Subhadra) and here pattachitra identifies the temple ethnicity. In the event, the three divine
deities take a holy bath. The historical story narrates that the triads fall sick for 15 days
known as ‘Anasara’ and they live in quarantine inside a hut known as ‘Anasara Ghara’.
4. The three triads after falling sick cause a temporary absence from their sanctum out of
public view. For this tradition, the temple’s priest known as ‘Pandas’ call upon chitrakaras to
draw the reflection of the deities on the walls so the public can pay obeisance, and that
painting is ‘Anasara Patti’.
 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL 23

5. The patta painters in Odisha are locally called ‘Chitrakaras’ and mostly belong to the
Raghurajpur village of Puri district, Odisha. The houses of artists aligned on the streets are
‘Chitrakara Saahi’.
6. Traditional paintbrush made by crushing the roots of the screw pine, and hair of rat is
known as Kia Kathi or Tuli.

Acknowledgments
We extend our thankfulness to all the respondents for providing their relevant responses and
time for the present study.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
No funding agency has supported this research work.

Notes on contributors
Ms. Kanungo is PhD Research Scholar in Sociology, Department of Humanities and Social
Sciences, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Odisha, India. Presently, she is also
working as a Research Assistant under the Indian Council of Social Science Research, India
(ICSSR) in one of her supervisor’s project entitled Tribal Education.
Dr. Sethi is currently working as the Associate Professor in Economics, Department of
Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela; Odisha. His
publications include four books and 20 research papers in international journals such as Energy
Policy, Utilities Policy, Economic analysis and policy, International Journal of Social Economics
and Transnational Corporation Review etc.
Mr. Biswal is PhD Research Scholar in Sociology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences,
National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Odisha; India. He is the doctoral fellow of the
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He has the total authority over pattachitra pic-
tures collected during the fieldwork for preparing this manuscript.

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