Raghurajpur the crafts village of Odisha state is 10 kms from Puri and 55 kms from the state capital Bhubaneswar. This place is famous for the beautiful crafts painting etc developed by the entire villagers.
There are about a 100 houses in the village and almost everyone is an artisan. They are Pattachitra painters, an art form which dates back to 5 BC. They also make stone idols, traditional masks, paper sculptures, mache, wooden toys. Some of these artists have also won National Awards for their exceptional work.. The craftsmen of Raghurajpur painting village have been supplying decorative items to temples and Mathas (temples constructed mostly by famous devotees located around Sri Jaganatha temple.) of Puri since long time. The craftsmen of Raghurajpur village also supply Patas which used in the throne of Lord Jaganatha inside temple. During car festival several the chariots are decorated by paints of these artisans. These craftsmen are also called locally as Chitrakaras.
This village boasts of famous Odissi Dance Guru Sri Kelu Charan Mohapatra who was born and brought up in the village. So, visit to Raghurajpur painting village with watching of Gotipua Dance will be a memorable trip to Odisha.
There are around hundred families live in the village. All houses are divided in two lanes. In all houses of the village, front room is used as show room and they also work from here.