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Wood carving is another important handicraft of
Orissa. This again can be broadly grouped into three
sub-groups-painted wood carvings, plain wood carvings and wood turned
items.
Idol
& Chariot Decorations
The first group comprise of painted wooden toys of
Puri and Bargarh
masks, and idols and chariot decorations. Usually light varieties of wood
are preferred and vegetable and mineral colours are used. The art is
mostly practiced by the carpenter caste who has the title "Moharana".
They use the simple carpentry tools like hammer, chisel etc.
The motifs include various stylized animals and birds like horse, bull,
elephant, lion, tiger, peacock and Nabagunjara etc., Radha and Krishna and
'Sakhis' and most popular of all, the three deities of the Puri
temple - Jagannatha
(also spelt as Jagannath), Balabhadra and Subhadra. There are also
excellent painted wooden doors with panels depicting various scenes from
Krisna's life, Ramayana and other stories. Various wooden masks with a
hollow back are also painted representing stylized human faces.
The three chariots of the Puri
car festival are profusely decorated with wooden images depicting
various deities as Parswa-Devatas. Image of the 'Sarathi' or the
charioteer and the horses attached in front are also made by wood carvers
of Puri. Similar items are also attached to the chariot of
Lingaraja during
"Ashokastami" at
Bhubaneswar
.
One can also find an interesting wooden painted image of Brahma in the
Lingaraja temple immediately to the right of the entrance. Images of
Radha, Krishna and Sakhis as well as other decorative items made by wood
carvers are attached to the Kunjas or ceremonial swings for the spring
festival called "dola". This shows the close links of the craft
of wood carving to the cultural and religious traditions of the State.
Plain Wood Carving
The plain wood carvings are mostly done on a soft creamish wood called "Gambhari"
or white teak. While the features in the painted wood carvings are usually
less defined and blunt, those in the plain carvings in Gambhari are not
only sharp and fine but attain exquisite needle work finish and are more
akin to the workmanship of the sculptors.
Well proportioned and finished to great smoothness these items are fit
for a connoisseur's including
Konark wheel
besides other items based on myths, legends and folklore. Indolent
damsels, Krishna, Radha, Sakhis, Haraparvati. Konark horse, Konark
elephant are popular but the scene from 'Mahabharata' depicting Krishna
teaching 'Arjuna' the tenets of the 'Gita' when the latter shies away from
the battle, with the grand chariot with its divine charioteer and the
valiant rider depicted by the wood carver is most captivating. 
This variety of wood carving is mostly practiced in Cuttack
town though a few craftsmen are also found at Bhubaneswar and
Puri . Wood turned
articles using the creamish Gambhari and the harder and darker 'Sisu' or
rose wood is a specialty of the artisans from Daspalla area in Puri
district.
Popular items are small pitchers with mango leaves and coconut, glass,
bowls, and incense stands. It is interesting to note that although the
process of wood turning with small hand operated wooden lathe is also used
else where in India, the Orissa artisans prefer to leave the surface plain
and they do not lacquer it like the famous toy makers of Chennapatna in
Karnataka .
Wood Carving Excellence In Temples
Samples of the excellence of the wood carvers of Orissa can be found in
temple ceilings and carved wooden beams and doors in places like "Birnchinarayan
temple" at Buguda, "Charchika temple" at Banki, "Shiva
temple at Kapilas, and "Laxmi-Nrusingha
temple" at Berhampur.