A few kilometres outside Bhubaneswar, the road to Pipli leads into a village where work is always in sight. Houses double up as workshops, and shopfronts spill over with stitched fabrics — canopies, wall hangings, and home décor — hanging low over the street.

Here, there is little separation between home and craft, because in almost every house live artisans trying to sustain and rework a 12th-century tradition.

The village and the craft are namesakes; both are called Pipli. And the two are intrinsically linked.

Once, this craft belonged almost entirely to ritual. Linked to the Jagannath Temple, it was shaped by temple needs and stories that still circulate in the village — of artisans, devotion, and objects meant for the divine.

What began in ritual spaces followed a fixed visual language: reds, yellows, greens, and blacks stitched into elephants, peacocks, flowers, and the sun, designed to be seen from afar.

Today, those same patterns move through more urban settings, carrying that instinct for colour and visibility into homes and everyday life.

From a specialised craft to a local economy

Pipli is a 12th-century craft that has steadily found its way into contemporary spaces.

But how is it sustaining a local economy?

The craft originally took shape through layers........

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