Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi & Koraput district admin hosts competition to revive 'Jhoti' art

To revive the traditional art form, 'Jhoti' as well as to encourage women to practice this folk art, the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi along with the cooperation of the Koraput district administration, conducted a competition on Jhoti art on Thursday, October 7, in the Padampur village of the district.  

'Jhoti,' commonly known as 'Alpona,' is folk art and traditional practice of creating murals or Rangoli at the front entrance of a home during social events and religious holidays. Though, Jhoti is not quite similar to rangoli. While rangolis are produced with coloured powders, jhoti art is created with a traditional white, semi-liquid rice or pithau paste to create line art. In this art style, the fingers are utilised as a paintbrush. 

President of Odisha Lalit Kala Academy Sudarshan Pattnaik speaks on Jhoti art

During the competition, the world-famous sand artist from Odhisa, Sudarshan Pattnaik was also present at the event. There were a significant number of women participants present in the Jhoti competition. The President of Odisha Lalit Kala Academy, Sudarshan Pattnaik said, "In today's world of science, creating a spiritual environment is almost extinct. Therefore, the state government has re-awakened the issue and created a healthy environment for women, not only that but also, they can also showcase their hidden creativity," ANI reported.  

Pattnaik also added that this effort was made to encourage talented women while also ensuring that cultural traditions are preserved. He informed that this time, there were over 100 applications of the participants. He explained that the next aim is to take this art form to the state level. 

As per an ANI report, one of the participants said that the way this competition has helped in reviving an old tradition, is remarkable. The women who took part in this competition are incredibly talented since they can produce such lovely Jhotis. The participants further added, “I am really grateful to the organizers as they have made an effort to revive this art." 

Meanwhile, in the month of August, to mark the occasion of India's Independence Day on August 15, the famous sand artist, Sudarsan Pattnaik had shared an image of a lovely sand sculpture created by his students. Pattnaik posted the image on Twitter and stated that his pupils produced sand art on Independence Day at the Puri beach in Odisha. The sand painting depicted the Red Fort in Delhi, with the words "Happy Independence Day" inscribed around it. 

Image: ANI