Kunja Bihari Meher (1928 – 30 June 2008) was an Indian master craftsman and weaver from

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. Born in the

Bargarh district Bargarh District is an administrative district of Odisha state in eastern India. The city of Bargarh is its district headquarters. The district was carved out of the erstwhile district of Sambalpur on 1 April 1993. History In ancient times ...

, he is known for the ''Ikkat'' tradition ( tie and dye) of weaving, found in the

Sambalpuri saree A Sambalpuri sari is a traditional handwoven ''bandha'' (Odisha Ikat, ikat) sari (locally called ''"sambalpuri bandha"'' sadhi or saree) wherein the warp and the weft are tie-dyed before weaving. It is produced in the Sambalpur district, Sambal ...

s of Odisha, and is credited with the development of Sambalpuri

handloom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

industry. He was awarded the fourth highest civilian award of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

by the Government of India, in 1998. He posthumously won the National Award for Handicrafts of the National Centre for Textile Design in 2009. His son, Surendra Meher, is also a known weaver. Meher died in Barapali on 30 June 2008.

References

1928 births 2008 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts People from Bargarh district Indian weavers {{India-artist-stub