Devoted To Ikat Art: Tracing Odisha Artisan Sarat Kumar Patra’s Padma Shri Journey
Seven years, countless nights and entire family's effort turned sacred poetry - the Gita Govinda into cloth which would not have been possible without devotion.
Published : January 27, 2026 at 1:20 PM IST
By Narayan Sahoo
Cuttack: He takes to the weft and warp only when none else does. So he chooses the calm and silence of the late evenings when he immerses in the bandha or ikat work. And when it comes to the final outcome, his work speaks louder and his art reflects the beauty that only dedication can bring forth. That is Sarat Kumar Patra for you, the artist who will be conferred the Padma Shri in a few months from now.
After his name was announced for the award, Patra’s eyes turned moist reflecting a sense of fulfilment rather than triumph. “I first came to know about it from the media. Later, the Member of Parliament from Cuttack Bhartruhari Mahtab called and congratulated me,” he said, recalling the moment that brought national recognition to a lifetime of silent work.
Among his most extraordinary creations is a 52-metre-long scroll of bandha or ikat textile on which Patra painstakingly wove the entire Gita Govinda - Odisha’s literary and spiritual soul into fabric. Commissioned by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi, the monumental work took seven years to complete. It was not a solitary effort, rather his entire family including his students contributed, bound together by a common pursuit.
“Only Lord Jagannath knows how much effort went into weaving the entire Gita Govinda on cloth. The peace I felt after completing it cannot be expressed in words. I used to do the work only late in the evenings while listening to the verses and I cannot explain, how connected I felt with the Lord,” Patra explains.
Despite receiving prestigious honours like the National Handloom Award (1993) and the Sant Kabir Award (2015), the master weaver remains deeply concerned about the future of bandha art. “I have disciples in Nuapatna, but why would the next generation choose this path? The labour is immense and the remuneration is too little. If they continue, they may starve,” he said candidly.
Patra’s artistry extends beyond textiles. He created an 8x8-foot mural depicting the 10 avatars of Vishnu, earning him the President’s Award in 1993. His mural on the life of Buddha later brought him the Sant Kabir Award.
With the Padma Shri, Patra feels his responsibility has grown. He has urged the government to establish Gurukuls, museums and documentation centres to ensure the survival of this heritage art. “This art must reach the world. It must live on, so that young people do not turn away from it,” he said.
Born into a traditional handloom weaver family in the historic Maniabandha-Nuapatna handloom cluster of Athagarh subdivision in Cuttack district, Patra inherited bandha (ikat) weaving not merely as a profession, but as a calling. With over four decades of experience, his hands have carried forward an art that once clothed kings and continues to adorn Lord Jagannath through the 'Khandua Pata' (typical Odisha handwoven sarees).
Patra has consistently been training young weavers with the hope that the tradition will survive. While passing on the skills, he specifically chooses those from the underprivileged background so that they stick to the art and earn a livelihood.
Patra's livelihood may still struggle to keep pace with his legacy, but he has never allowed his passion to lose strength. With threads as his language and colours as his voice, the master weaver from Odisha has spent a lifetime preserving an art form that has resisted haste in a fast-changing world.
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