During a village festival in his hometown in Rajkomna village of Odisha, Rajat Kumar Panigrahi realised that many ancient folk art forms of Odisha were undocumented and slowly disappearing.
Rajat envisioned preserving these rare folk arts by documenting them. His mission was to ensure these traditions were not lost but passed on to future generations.
Reaching remote villages without basic connectivity, a lack of funds, and artists abandoning their craft posed major hurdles. Many questioned why Rajat invested his own money in an initiative with no commercial returns.
Rajat, along with his cousin and friend, launched ‘Matir Kala’ on social media to document folk traditions. This marked the first time many of these art forms were recorded and shared publicly.
Since 2017, the team has travelled thousands of kilometres across western Odisha, covering over 1,700 villages. Despite limited resources, they continued supporting artists and authentic instrument makers.
Several endangered folk dances, music traditions, and instruments were preserved through documentation. Many artists regained confidence, returned to their craft, and found new opportunities.
“We have also documented sarangi and ghudka folk instruments in Balangir, kisan folk dance in Sambalpur, and folk instrument makers of Balangir, Sonepur, and Nuapada,” Rajat shares.
Some traditions had only a few practitioners left, making revival difficult. These setbacks taught the team that preservation requires patience, persistence, and community engagement.
Matir Kala’s work brought folk art into academic and research spaces. Universities now include these traditions in their curriculum, and researchers worldwide reference the documentation.
Rajat’s initiative shows how grassroots efforts can protect cultural heritage. Matir Kala continues to inspire preservation beyond material gain.