Orissa is endowed with varieties of crafts linked to a number of festivals and rituals observed in our state. The superb art and skill displayed by our master craftsman in temples, sculptures and monuments of the past have been enthralling the visitors over the centuries. Orissa Handicrafts due to their unique, original, creative characteristics and unsurpassed sense of color have a pride of place in the Indian Handicraft Map. Instead of being merely decorative the crafts of Orissa are gloriously alive suited to modern tastes with essential traditional links with checkered past.

‘Appliqué is the old Orissa Folk art originating in Pipili, a village 17 Kms. form Bhubaneswar ‘Applique’, a French term, is a technique by which the decorative effect is obtained by superimposing patches of colored fabrics, on a basic fabrics, the edges oh the patches being sewn in some form of stitchery. Though the form is not unknown in other parts of India, it is Orissa and Especially in Pipili that the craft has a living and active tradition continuing over centuries. Over the years the crafts practice has spread to other pockets of the states.

As with many other handicrafts of Orissa, the root of the appliqué craft form is intermingled with the rituals and traditional of Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity of the puri temple. The appliqué items are mainly used during processions of the deities in their various ritual outings. Items like Chhati, Tarasa and Chandua are used for the purpose. The appliqué work in its colorful best in most prominent in the cloth cover and decoration of the three chariots of the presiding Deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra in which they travel every year during the Ratha Yatra or Car Festival. The traditional items made of appliqué patterns and associated with religious functions are Canopies, locally called ‘Chanduas’, Chhati, a sort of big umbrella with long wooden handle, Tarasa a heart-shaped wooden piece covered by appliqué cloth and supported by along wooden pole, Jhalar- another popular item is a sort of frill which is used as a border to canopies and also independently used as decorative pieces. Four basic colors used are red, white, black and yellow, although green has also become popular.

With changing times this appliqué work has been re-oriented to suits modern tastes and preferences of the customers. Appliqué umbrellas with metal fabrication are now used on beaches and gardens, while saris, Cholas, and household linens with folk motifs are popular all over. The motifs used are fairly varied consisting of stylized presentations of flora and fauna as well as a few mythical figures. Of the most common motifs are the elephant, parrot, peacock, creepers, trees, flowers like lotus, jasmine, half-moon, the sun etc. The creative urge of the craftsmen however are released in the endless various combination of motifs as well as in the mixing of the limited colors.

Appliqué craft thus has evolved from religious and cultural background to a commercially available and growing industry providing employment to a large number of artisans, especially women.