
Parvati Meher
Applique Artisan
Artisan
2025
Parvati Meher is a 40-year-old appliqué artisan based in Butupalli village, Boudh district, Odisha. She began practicing the craft after her marriage, learning through observation and guidance within her marital family. Her work is embedded within a long-standing family tradition of over 100 years, centred around the making of ritual objects such as chhatri for Danda Yatra. Working alongside her family, she contributes to various stages of production using materials such as bamboo sourced from local forests and fabrics procured from Cuttack and regional suppliers. Her practice unfolds within the domestic space, where work is integrated into everyday routines and shared across family members, including her son. The production remains largely outside formal exhibition or retail circuits, functioning instead within ritual economies and local networks. Parvati’s engagement with the craft reflects both continuity and adaptation, as she navigates the demands of domestic responsibilities alongside sustained participation in the making process.
Parvati Meher, an appliqué artisan from Butupalli village in Boudh district, Odisha, engaged in the traditional making of ritual objects for Danda Yatra within her family’s century-old craft practice.