“It is a very disturbing matter as the artists of Raghurajpur have painted the images of Lord Jagannath on liquor bottles. We condemn this and demand stern action against them,” Priyadarshan Pattnaik, Convenor of Sri Jagannath Sena said.
According to reports, the Members of Sri Jagannath Sena reacted sharply over the images drawn by Patachitra artists on the bottles which also included painting of Lord Jagannath on liquor bottles. They also lodged an FIR at Chandanpur police station in Puri.
“We never expected such shameless act from the artists of Raghurajpur area that is considered as an embodiment of Jagannath culture,” Taluchha Bhagwan Mohapatra, member of Shri Mandir
On the other hand, the artists of Raghurajpur area had never dreamt in their worst of nightmares that their work of art would come under such scathing attack by the members of Sri Jagannath Sena. The artists generally buy these bottles from the local ‘kabadiwalas’ at a cost of Rs 15 each. After beautifying the bottles with the paintings of Radha-Krishna and Lord Jagannath the artists sell them at Rs 200-250 each.
“We buy these bottles at Rs 15 each, paint them and then sell them at Rs 200-250 each depending on the amount of hard work involved in the work,” Radhamani Moharana, an artist from Raghurajpur said.
Earlier in a similar incident, number of priests of the Jagannath temple demonstrated in front of the temple protesting the portrayal of the images of Neelachakra on children`s footwear.