Kala Bhoomi

Last week for my documentary assignment I went to Kala Bhoomi, Odisha’s Crafts Museum, in Bhubaneswar. It’s located almost 15 km away from my house and it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I had never even heard of it. The moment my friends and I reached the place we were already excited to explore it. The place is blissful, serene, and well maintained and the best part is the area is covered with greenery. We were in awe of its beauty.

We visited the Terracotta Gallery where we saw cooking pots, votive horses, toys, bangles, and other artifacts made out of clay.

(Pic credit: Kalabhoomi Twitter handle)

Our next stop was at the Traditional Painting Gallery which had Patachitra paintings, palm leaf manuscripts, and artifacts that were painted in traditional style.

(Pic Credit: Kala bhoomi official website)

Before we went to the next gallery we went inside the AV room in the museum. The AV room holds screenings of short movies that focus on the making and the work that goes into making different crafts from across the state.

After the movie, we went to the stone and wood carving gallery. This section displayed the magnificent wooden artifacts and stone fragments collected from the ruins of ancient temples. Bhubaneswar is the city of temples and the architectural display of our heritage in this gallery is guaranteed to fill your heart with pride.

(Pic credit: Tripadvisor)

The next section we visited was the Metal Crafts Gallery where we saw various intricate and fine work in every form of metal which has turned into a fascinating craft. This place had Dhokra artifacts, Tarakasi jewellery, Brass utensils, and other artifacts made out of silver.

After the metal crafts gallery visit, we went to the Natural Material Crafts gallery. What makes this place so unique is the ideas and innovation of women folk in rural regions to not let any materials go to waste and that has led to the creation of crafts like Paddy work, Betel Nut Carving, Seashell Craft, Cow dung toys, Cane baskets, Golden Grass objects, toys made out of coconut fiber and more.

The next stop was the Pre-Weaving Techniques Gallery dedicated to showing the process of the creation of strands of threads that are transformed into clothes. It has garlands of cocoons, machinery used for weaving, and fabrics woven from Mulberry, Eri, Peduncle, Tassar Silk, and Cotton.

(Pic credit: Virasat E Hind Foundation)

After this place, we visited the Tribal Crafts Gallery which has an exquisite collection of ornaments, dresses, tools, jewellery, instruments, and crafts that gives you the feeling of being in a tribal village!

(Pic Credit: Kala bhoomi official website)

The last gallery we visited was Handlooms gallery. The fabrics displayed in this place had detailed and vibrant designs. The weavers weave their social traditions, ethos, and values into the fabric, giving it a unique look.

(Pic Credit: Kala bhoomi official website)

My favorite section in the museum was the place dedicated to Lord Jagannath. It had the most divine scent of sandalwood and the monuments of the trio deities, Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra.

The museum also pays homage to Shree Jagannath’s Rath Yatra culture as the wooden wheels, the three chariots and parts of the chariots are displayed throughout the place.

We spent 2 hours there and not even for a minute we were bored. That place always had something that caught our attention and we were intrigued by it, be it the extensive greenery, the wall paintings, or the lily pond, visiting this place is a magical experience and for someone who loves places that are situated in nature and are calm and serene, this was heaven. We clicked many pictures and were so invested in the place that we were there even after closing hours. We were literally pulled out of there!

Kala Bhoomi celebrates the vibrant traditions of handlooms and handicrafts of Odisha. If you are in Bhubaneswar I would highly recommend you to visit this place that preserves the rich art culture of the state.