One District One Product

DURGI STONE CARVING

ONE DISTRICT ONE PRODUCT INITIATIVE:

1. INTRODUCTION:

Goddess Durga idol with Durgi Stone in Durgi Temple

Buddha Statue with Durgi Stone

Durgi stone craft hails from the temple town village of Durgi in the Palnadu District, Andhra Pradesh state. These are intricate stone carvings are specialized stone carvings carved from soft lime stone called “SuddaRai” in local language and available only in this region. The craft originated at Durgi in the 15th century and has flourished since then. Durgi stone crafts are whitish gray in color; and look very glittery on finish due to the nature of the stone and unique to this region. The craftsmen follow the traditional carvings techniques according to the ShilpShastras. The exquisite Craftsmanship of the traditional Durgi sculptors is exceptional and this remarkable skill has been acquired and passed on to generations.

First of all, the artisans carved and consecrated the sculpture of Durgamma. It is because of this Durga temple the name of Durgi has come into existence. Since then hundreds of artists have continued to showcase their sculptural skills. It is located 89 km from the District Headquarters, i.e., Narasaraopeta & 166 km away from the city of Vijayawada and 10KMs away from the Macherla town.

2.UNIQUENESS OF ODOP:

The unique and impressive range of Durgi Stone Carvings attained the Geographical Indication Tag in 2017 under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999, it a distinct identity. Geographical Indication Number for Durgi Stone Carvings is 481 and Certificate Number is 298 Dt.22.06.2017 with falling in Class 19 is hereby advertised as accepted under Sub-section (1) of Section 13 of Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. Class19-Handcrafted- Stone carvings products including but not limited to Statues of god & goddess, human form, animal sand nature, utilitarian products, gift & decorative items, etc., Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited, a State Government Undertaking applied for the GI Tag for this global recognition.

3. VARIETY OF PRODUCTS:

These masterpieces have a rich history dating back to the 3rd century AD and are linked to the earliest Palaeolithic civilizations, which thrived along the banks of the River Krishna. Over the years, the craft has been superbly perfected reflecting the artisans’ relationship with their ancestral, cultural, ethnic, historic, mystic and religious subjects as well as contemporary civic and natural surroundings.

The ancient skill which produced masterpieces of art and sculpture seen at Nagarjuna konda museum continues to be practiced and taught here.

A School of Sculpture and Stone Carvings is located here which teaches the ancient skill of durgi stone craft. Over the years, the soft lime stone available only in this region has proved to be one of the finest soft stone to work on to give easy finish and great variety of designs and sizes with ease. Recently sculptors have come out with new decorative and utilitarian designs for commercial use and making this a fast selling product in the market.