The village of

Pipili Pipili is a town and a NAC under jurisdiction of Puri district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is famous for designing beautiful Applique handicrafts. It is a town of artisans famous for their colourful fabrics. Geography Pipili is located a ...

Puri district Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...

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 ...

, India, is well known for its

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

work, also known as Chandua ( or, ଚାନ୍ଦୁଆ Cānduā). "Appliqué" comes from the French word ''appliquer'', meaning "to put on". There are two variants to this technique: appliqué, where a fabric shape is sewn over a base layer, and reverse appliqué, wherein two layers of fabric are laid down, and a shape is subsequently cut out from the upper layer, exposing the lower layer, before both are stitched together. It is one of the products which has been granted

Geographical Indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

(GI) by the government of India (Application No. 86 and 108).

History

Pipili appliqué work owes its origin to the culture of Lord

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

during the 12th century. Earlier appliqué

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...

s and canopies were prepared by the

Gajapatis The Gajapati Empire or the Suryavamsa (IAST: Sūryavaṃśa, "Solar dynasty") dynasty was a medieval dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, it originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of the present-day Odisha and North coastal Andhra) an ...

for the annual Ratha Jatra of Jagannath.

Use

Nowadays its usage is more in household, decorative and festival products. The appliqué items are mainly used during rituals and jatras of the deities, particularly the colourful appliqué cloth covers of the three

ratha Ratha ( Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*Hrátʰas'', Sanskrit: रथ, '; Avestan: ''raθa'') is also known as the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot or a cart of antiquity. Harappan Civilisation The Indus Valley Civilization sites of Dai ...

s of the deities during Rath Jatra. Apart from differences in colour the basic design of all three is similar. Appliqué work is also used in making

pillow A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and man ...

s, seats and ritual dresses for the deities.

Designing

The base cloth includes water proof material for umbrellas, velvet for tents, cotton, and threads. Mythical and natural figures are used for the work, including

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

s, creepers, flowers such as

jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

and lotus, the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, half-

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and

Rahu Rāhu (Sanskrit: राहु, 16px, ☊) is one of the nine major celestial bodies (navagraha) in Hindu texts and the king of meteors. It represents the ascension of the moon in its precessional orbit around the earth, also referred as the ...

(a mythical demon who once swallowed up the sun). The craft involves embroidering and stitching. For attaching the pieces of cloth the makers use straight stitch, satin stitch, blind stitch, or buttonhole stitch. Sometimes they also make mirror work and many decorative stitches.

Pipili village

Pipili is a small town, situated about 40 kilometers from

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

. The income of this town is essentially dependent on the business of its handicrafts of which the appliqué works are the main source. Nowadays, Pipili is globally known as the destination of appliqué and is where many workers and workshops continue to practise the technique, creating both traditional and contemporary items.

''Gunneius Book of Records''

Pipili has an entry in 2004 in the ''Gunneius Book of Records'', for the world's largest thematic appliqué work. The long work is filled with depictions of India's struggle for independence.

References

{{Odia culture Geographical indications in Odisha Textile arts of India